Lost in Revenge
by Sarah Pevensie
Summary: Sequel to Lost in the Mind and second of the Lost series. Shredder is devising something with the Kraang and the turtle family is still broken from what happened. But Leo has a plan of his own. A plan that could end up devastating everyone that he loves.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there! I present to you a sequel to Lost in the Mind!**

 **Now, I'm going to try and update the chapters once every Friday, like new episodes of a TV show (especially since we won't be getting any new TMNT 2012 episodes for a while now). However, since some of my chapters are long and takes time to edit (and because life keeps getting in the way), there are chances that I might miss my deadline. If that happens, wait for the next week.**

 **So, without further ado, here is the first chapter of Lost in Revenge. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1:

A cold night poured over the city of New York. Life sparkled through the streets and windows of sky-high buildings. But one building was dead to the outside world. A building that was once a church, but now served as a home for the devils.

Inside, the Shredder sat on his throne, with two of his Foot Bots standing on both sides as his bodyguards. Shredder was in another one of his long sessions of deep, dark thoughts and schemes; making absolute sure that every step to victory was perfect.

He was suddenly interrupted by the door opening far across from him, the sound of its hinges echoing through the almost empty room. Shredder opened his eyes and looked up.

Karai was the first to enter, followed behind by a small group of Foot Bots, Razhar, and Fishface. All but Karai were carrying large, metal boxes. The words, "TCRI," were engraved on each of the boxes.

"Report," Shredder ordered after Karai stopped at the foot of the stairs and bowed to her father.

Karai frowned at him but said, "Everything went as well as those aliens have said. They left these boxes at the docks at precisely 6 o'clock. We found them and brought them here with no trouble. We were not followed."

"Good." Shredder stood up. "That's a first in a long time," he mumbled.

"Master Shredder," Razhar spoke as he and the others carefully placed the heavy boxes down. "If I may be so bold, I would like to know: what exactly are in these boxes that are so important to you?"

"Yes," Fishface agreed, gazing at his metal box in front of him. He reached his webbed fingers out toward the box lid, desiring a peek. "I am very curious to know what sort of weapon those alien freaks have built for us-"

"Don't touch it!" Shredder commanded harshly. Fishface's fingers stopped an inch from touching the lid. "You will all find out soon enough," Shredder continued, walking down the steps to examine the metal boxes. "But first, I must speak with Kraang in private. Leave me."

Razhar, Fishface, and Foot Bots bowed respectively to their master and left the room.

Shredder turned and noticed that Karai had not moved. "You too."

"Father, with all due respect, is it wise to deal with the Kraang so closely?"

"Since when did this matter to you, Karai? It hadn't bothered you before when we worked with the Kraang race."

"It's just, you've been having private conversations with their leader for weeks. What are you two planning on?"

Shredder turned away from her, making his way back up the stairs. "It does not concern you, Karai."

"Yeah, sure," Karai mumbled to herself.

Shredder stopped, his eyes on her. "What was that?"

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt from all this," she replied smoothly.

Shredder studied her. "You are as stubborn as your mother once was. I cannot tell you the full plan just yet, but I can tell you that this will bring an end to Hamato Yoshi and his turtles once and for all."

"But we've tried to destroy them before," Karai pointed out. "What makes you think this plan will work?"

"It will." Shredder sat back down on his throne.

"But father-"

"Leave me, Karai."

"Father-"

"I said leave me!" His voice was so cold and firm, a chill ran down Karai's spine. She glared at him, thousands of colorful words against her father burning at the tip of her tongue. Her fists tightened at either sides of her.

But instead, Karai spun around and hurried straight out the door, leaving Shredder, once again, alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Donnie stretched his exhausted muscles, finally finished working on another one of his inventions. It was tired work, but Donnie loved every minute of it. Taking his goggles off and tossing them on his desk, he turned to his computer and began to check the news on the internet.

There were the normal crime news. Theft, fights, disturbances, nothing that the policemen couldn't handle. But there were no reports of stranger crimes. Crimes that would look very suspicious to the public eye. And, to a mutant, ninja turtle like himself, those crimes would either have been the work of the Foot Clan or the Kraang. But, so far, there had been no reported crimes on which to suspect that their enemies were involved in.

It has been a whole month since Shredder had acted against the Hamato family, and it has been several weeks since the Kraang really did anything. These two enemies have been very quiet. Too quiet. Not even the Kraang Orb that sat next to his computer acted up.

Donnie scratched his chin in thought. The last time they've heard from the Kraang, those aliens were planning on another invasion on New York. But when and how, Donnie wished he knew. The Kraang must be developing something big if they were keeping quiet for this long. And Shredder . . .

Donnie's eyes moved to the door. The Lair has been solemnly quiet like an empty tomb. Sighing, Donnie rubbed his drowsy face and got up, scratching the scar on his shoulder as he stepped out of his lab.

The only sound that greeted Donnie in the living room was that anime show on the TV. The only one watching was Raph, who was slouching on the couch and wearing a blank face. The light from the ceiling glistened over Raph's small scars on his skin; those that, unlike his other scars, did not fade away over time. Raph's eyes were on the TV, but even Donnie could tell that Raph wasn't really watching the show, using it as background music for his own, preoccupied thought. Donnie had done the same many times before.

Donnie turned to look at the Dojo Room, where Master Splinter must still be in, doing one of his many long meditations. Sensei seemed to be spending more time in the Dojo nowadays, and the only time Donnie ever saw him was during training sessions. Despite everything that happened, Sensei seemed to believe that things will soon get better and that only time can heal the wounds. But Donnie wondered exactly how much time does it need to take in order to heal. The wound in this family still felt fresh.

Donnie walked over to the kitchen, expecting Mikey to be there. Maybe he's talking to his pet, Ice Cream Kitty, in the fridge, or maybe experimenting another pizza. But there was no one in the kitchen.

Donnie walked back to the living room. "Hey Raph, where's Mikey?"

Raph only pointed his thumb toward their bedrooms. Donnie's face dropped. Mikey was there again.

Donnie walked to a small hallway of doors, each leading to a turtle's bedroom. One door, the one covered with Japanese symbols, space icon stickers, and a few punch marks here and there, was where Donnie found Mikey at.

Mikey was standing in front of the door, with a box of pizza in his hands.

"Come on, Leo! Open up," Mikey said to the door. He held the pizza box closer to the door. "Look, I made you your favorite pizza!" He pulled the pizza box open with his arm that was once broken, but now fully healed. Smoke of aroma escaped the box and the scent of the pizza instantly slammed into Donnie's nose. "Pepperoni with Space Heroes Cereal marshmallows! Come out so you can eat it! It's delicious!"

The door remained closed. Mikey's face crumbled a little, but it was quickly covered up by his large grin. "Hey, Leo! You wanna play some video games with me? You can pick the game! Or do you wanna go train or something? And while we play, you can eat your pizza!" Mikey stared at the closed door, waiting. But the door was as still as a wall. "Leo?" Mikey knocked on Leo's door.

Donnie opened his mouth to speak, but Raph's voice stopped him.

"He's not gonna answer," Raph called out from the living room. Donnie looked at him with disapproving eyes.

"Yes he will!" Mikey insisted to Raph. "He can't stay in his room forever! He'll get bored in there and his room will eat him alive! He's missing all the best stuff! Pizza, skateboarding, video games, trips to New York, and TV! He's never missed an episode of Space Heroes before!"

Raph turned his head toward them and Donnie could see raw emotions in his emerald green eyes, but they were overshadowed by anger. "Leo's never going to open that door. He doesn't want to see us, because he's a coward!"

"That's not true!" Donnie immediately said.

"Yeah, Leo's not afraid of anything!" Mikey added.

"Oh really?" Raph jumped over the couch, his rage building up. "Then why doesn't our 'fearless leader' come out of there and show his face to us!"

"You have no idea what he went through, Raph!" Donnie said.

"Oh yes I do!" Raph stormed up to them, his fists and face tight with his usual Raph fury. "Leo wasn't the only one that was under that Shred-head's control! His was just the longest! He should have talked to us about it! We all could have talked about it, letting it all out and moving on from that whole thing. But no! He's hiding himself behind that stupid door like a coward!"

"Raph, stop-"

"YOU HEAR THAT, LEO!" Raph shouted at Leo's door. "YOU'RE A COWARD! A WEAK, BRAINLESS COWARD! YOU DESERVE TO HIDE YOURSELF IN THAT HOLE OF YOURS! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT US! YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU SELFISH BRAT! IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT, THEN COME OUT AND FACE US!"

He glared at the door, waiting. But Leo's door remained closed, staring coldly at the three longing turtles.

Shock hit Raph, only for the flames to return as Raph suddenly punched the door (leaving another mark on the door) and stomped out of the Lair. Donnie and Mikey watched him go.

Mikey turned back to the door, anguish cracking though his innocent eyes. "Donnie," he said, cheerlessly. "Is Leo ever going to come out? I miss him."

Donnie hated seeing Mikey like this, especially over this predicament. He put on a smile and placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Of course he will. He just needs some space."

"But this is taking forever! How much time does he really need?"

Donnie glanced at Leo's door and sighed. "I don't know, Mikey."

Mikey looked down at the pizza, clearly not liking the answer. "Hey," Donnie said to his baby brother. "Why don't we go play video games?"

Mikey hesitated, glancing at Leo's door once more, hoping that it will open. He then turned to Donnie, wearing weak smile. "Okay," he said.

Mikey closed the pizza box and lay it in front of Leo's door. "Hey, Leo!" He said to the door. "If you ever get hungry, I'm leaving your pizza in front of your door! Hope you like it!"

Again, the motionless door said nothing and Donnie had to pull the miserable Mikey away from the door.

But Donnie glanced back at Leo's door one last time, deeply hoping that he could finally see his older brother for the first time in a month.

But he might as well be looking at a wall.

* * *

96 . . . 97 . . . 98 . . . 99 . . . 100.

Leo released his hold on the bar (that he attached on the ceiling) and landed on his feet, finishing his third round of pull-ups today. Stretching his muscles, he walked over to the corner of his bedroom, where a bowl of cool water waited for him. There, Leo took the rag that lay beside the bowl, dipped it in, and washed his sweaty skin with the drenched rag.

He could feel muscles underneath the rag. Good. He was getting stronger.

He rinsed over his bare face, only to freeze on his left eye. Lowering the rag, he touched his fingers along the bright, red double scars that stretched from his left temple and down-across to his bottom right cheek, with his left eye right in-between the scars. At once, painful memories flashed in his mind. Shredder's blades striking his face, knives of electric torture stabbing him, the desperate struggle to take back control from the mind-control device . . . the horrified faces of his family when he attacked them. Leo could still hear their pleas for him to come back, their cries when he hurt them.

They wouldn't leave him alone.

Leo tossed the rag into the bowl, rubbing his tired eyes. Even in sleep, he found no peace. His dreams would be far worse than those memories of his evil deeds. His dream-self would actually finish the job and kill each and every one of his family. What's worse, his dream-self would enjoy it, killing them slowly and taking delight in hearing them scream. And oh, how he killed them. It was always different each night. Stabbing, decapitation, amputation, strangling, breaking their necks, slitting their throats, hanging them! There was just no end to it. Leo would often wake up suddenly and head straight into training, fueling himself for his goal.

 _He_ is going to pay. It was all _his_ fault Leo was like this. This war and pain brought onto his family has gone too far. But Leo will put an end to it once and for all . . . no matter the cost.

Leo suddenly stopped when he heard a voice coming from behind his door. His heart fell heavy. It was Mikey.

"Hey, Leo! It's me, Mikey! You missed lunch again, so I brought some over! You can have it if you just come out!"

Oh, Mikey. Leo missed him. Out of all his brothers, Mikey was the most persistant (and the most patient) in trying to get Leo out of his room. It was Mikey that had visited him the most. Every day, Mikey would visit him, send him some pizza for him to eat, talk to him, tell him jokes, and sometimes plead with him to come out. Leo liked hearing Mikey's voice, though he yearned to see him.

Donnie would often visit him too, just passing the events of what's happened to them and to let Leo know that Donnie and the others miss him. Master Splinter also visited, giving him words of wisdom, assuring Leo that what happened wasn't his fault and that Splinter and his brothers don't blame him. Raph only visited him the first few times, shouting at him and punching his door in his usual anger, calling him a coward (among other things). Leo knew Raph was just trying to get on his nerves and provoke him enough to get him out of his room. It had almost worked, but Leo pulled himself back.

Leo had sworn to keep himself away from his family. He wasn't able to be with them, or even look at them, without feeling the cruel shame and guilt of what he had done to them. And there was always that tiny fear that Shredder had secretly left another mind control device in his brain that will unexpectedly take control of Leo once again and force him to finish the job, which Leo cannot allow. He can't be anywhere near them.

But Leo missed them so much, it was killing him. He missed all those innocent times when he would hang out with his brothers, share stupid jokes, training with them, traveling above the surface with them, and getting into shenanigans with them. He missed Master Splinter and his guidance. Leo could really use them right now.

 _It doesn't matter_ , he told himself. _You've already chosen your path. There's no stopping it._

"Leo?" Mikey spoke, now sounding like a lost child, looking for his big brother to help him. Leo couldn't help himself but be drawn to the door, slowly raising his hand toward it. But he stopped himself. He couldn't. He just couldn't.

"Come on, Leo! Open up! Look, I made you your favorite pizza! Pepperoni with Space Heroes Cereal marshmallows! Come out so you can eat it!" Leo's stomach growled at the mention of food. Leo couldn't help but smile. Mikey sure had great timing when it came to food.

"Hey, Leo," Mikey spoke again. "You wanna play some video games with me? You can pick the game! Or do you wanna go train or something? And while we play, you can eat your pizza!"

The ache returned tenfold. _Oh Mikey_ , he thought, resting his forehead on his door. _You don't know how much I want that right now._

"Leo?" His door shook underneath his forehead as Mikey knocked on it from the other side. Leo's fingers twitched, itching to reach for the doorknob.

There was a faint mumble on the other side, and Mikey said, "Yes he will! He can't stay in his room forever! He'll get bored in there and his room will eat him alive! He's missing all the best stuff! Pizza, skateboarding, video games, going to New York, and TV! He's never missed an episode of Space Heroes before!"

Leo felt strangely empty over missing all those things, like he no longer considered them important anymore.

There was another mumble, though it was slightly clearer to understand. Leo was able to recognize the voice belonging to Raph.

"That's not true," Donnie suddenly spoke, and Leo shook in surprise. He didn't even hear Donnie come over.

"Yeah, Leo's not afraid of anything!" said Mikey. Leo shut his eyes and lowered his head.

Raph's voice grew louder with every sentence he spoke, making it easy for Leo to clearly hear him. "Oh really? Then why doesn't our 'fearless leader' come out and show his face to us!"

He just doesn't understand.

"You have no idea what he went through, Raph!" Donnie said defensively.

"Oh yes I do!" Now Raph was much closer and louder, standing right in front of his door and angrily shouting every word to Leo. "Leo wasn't the only one that was under that Shred-head's control! His was just the longest! He should have talked to us about it! We all could have talked about it, letting it all out and moving on from that whole thing. But no! He's hiding himself behind that stupid door like a coward!"

Both Leo's hands tightened to quivering fists.

"Raph, stop-"

"YOU HEAR THAT, LEO!" Raph was now shouting at the top of his lungs. "YOU'RE A COWARD! A WEAK, BRAINLESS COWARD! YOU DESERVE TO HIDE YOURSELF IN THAT HOLE OF YOURS! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT US! YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU SELFISH BRAT! IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT, THEN COME OUT AND FACE US!"

Leo's hand shot to the doorknob. He was going to make Raph eat his words.

But right before he twisted the knob, he turned cold. His brothers' painful screams returned to his mind.

He couldn't. Seeing his brothers will only make it worse. All he will see will be his brothers lying at his feet, wounded, close to dying. And why would they want to see him? He had been a monster to them; they should be the ones hiding from _him_.

Very slowly, Leo retracted his hand from the doorknob. Raph was right. He was a coward. Not just a coward. He was weak too. He should have been strong enough to resist the mind-control device. He should have been strong enough to protect his brothers, his family. But he wasn't. Leo was supposed to be the leader; a strong and brave leader that would protect his family through thick and thin. But, over the course of several hours, Leo had failed his job. He failed as a leader and he failed as a brother and son. They should hate him instead of trying to reach out to him.

Leo quietly leaned his back against the door and slid down to the floor. He couldn't even allow himself to see his family and the scars that he had left on them. How low has he become?

 _No_ , he told himself. _You are not weak or a coward. You have a plan. Your family will eventually understand. They have to; they've got no other choice._

"Hey, Leo!" He abandoned his thoughts when he heard Mikey call his name again. "If you ever get hungry, I'm leaving your pizza in front of your door! Hope you like it!"

Leo sighed. Raph must have stormed off. Donnie must have left as well. They all must be getting tired of trying to communicate with him. Except for Mikey; he just doesn't know when to quit.

Footsteps walked away from his door. Leo waited before he quickly (and quietly) opened the door and pulled the pizza box in, closing the door shut before anyone could see him.

Returning his back to the door, Leo held the pizza box on his lap and lifted the cover up. The aroma of the pizza scent hit him as he gazed down at the pizza. Leo's favorite pizza of Mikey's creation.

Leo sure was going to miss all this.

Smiling sadly, he took a piece and began eating it in peace.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! It always helps me.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Seeing that the coast was clear, Leo slipped out of his room and quietly made his way out of the Lair.

It was very late at night, sometime after midnight. His brothers had returned home from night patrol an hour ago and have gone to bed. They shouldn't wake until late in the morning.

And, when everyone in the Lair was asleep, that's when Leo snuck out.

Leo journeyed through the empty tunnels of the sewers, the only company he had were the steady waters beside his feet and the smell of molded trash. Yeah it was foul, but it was home.

At last, Leo came across an entry to a tunnel that was boarded up with wooden planks, a sign attached to it saying "Do Not Enter". Leo placed both hands on one plank, either sides of the sign, and pulled hard. The plank snapped off easily, revealing a huge, rectangle hole. Placing the plank against the wall, Leo backed up and ran toward the hole, leaping and slipping right through it. Tumbling and landing swiftly further into the tunnel, Leo straightened up and continued forward.

He reached to the end of the tunnel and came upon a room that was as wide and as tall as a ballroom. There was no light shining down through the barred window high on the ceiling, but Leo knew his way around this dark place. After all, he had been coming down here every night while his family slept.

The entire floor had no river of sewage water flowing through, though the ground was still damp. There was a waterfall noise pounding through one wall. Four old platforms took up most of the space of the room, stacking up over one another. The only thing that connected them were stairs with iron banisters.

Leo hopped up and landed on the banister of the first platform, then he hopped higher and higher until he effortlessly landed on the fourth platform. Wordlessly, he walked over to the corner of the platform, where several bags of trash lay against. Leo buried his hands through the trash bags and pulled out something that he had expected to see.

It was a stuffed and poorly sewn dummy, about the size of a tall, muscular man. There were duct tapes wrapped around every inch of the body's skin, heavily around the arms and chest. But the heaviest duct tape use was around the neck, under a noose that held the neck tight. Covering the dummy's head was a papier- mâché of a Samurai helmet.

It wasn't perfect, but it satisfied Leo for a whole month.

He took hold of the other end of the rope and jumped high up until his other hand grabbed hold of the barred window. Dangling there, he used his other hand to tie the end of the rope around one of the bars. Once down, he released his hold on the barred window and descended back on the fourth platform.

Leo straightened up. There, hanging before him, was a dummy Shredder.

Leo's face turned cold. His hands reached behind him and pulled out his double katanas. He scowled at the dummy.

The dummy slightly rocked side to side, as if a gentle breeze flew against it.

Grunting through his clenched teeth, Leo ran and attacked the dummy. He slashed the dummy's arm right off. He waved his katanas as if clashing against invisible blades. He danced around the dummy, then chopped off its head. The helmet clanged on the iron floor, its sound stabbing the air.

Leo panted, glaring at the helmet. Then, placing his katanas back in his sheaths, he pulled out duct tape from his belt and picked up the fallen arm, bandaging it back to the body. After that, he picked up the dummy's helmet. He stared at it for a moment, his fingers threatening to crush the poor model of Shredder's helmet. Instead, Leo taped it back onto the body. Once the dummy was completed, Leo ripped out his katanas again and started another round with it.

This training session went on for another few hours, with Leo thinking up new possibilities of attack the Shredder dummy could make and Leo figuring out how to respond to them. No matter what, every session ended with the dummy's body parts slain and dropped at his feet. It was the same every night. But Leo knew that this wasn't enough. He needed a real challenge. He needed dummies that actually fought back.

Leo froze, his sword right through the dummy's chest. He looked up at the barred window, where the city of New York resided above him. It still looked dark outside. Maybe . . .

Leo jerked his sword out of the dummy, returning his katanas to his sheaths. Leo untied the rope holding the dummy and placed the dummy back behind the piles of trash bags. He bounced off the platform, landing at the bottom floor, and then crawled out of the room.

He spotted the nearest ladder to a manhole and made his way to it, when he stopped. His eyes looked up at the manhole cover. It's been a long time since he went up to the surface. The last time he was up there . . . oh right, he almost killed his brothers. He had missed many of the nightly patrols; the only glance he got from the city was through the barred window back at his training room. And even then, it was always at nighttime, too dark for him to see the city or really anything. He missed seeing New York. Perhaps this was the best time to see it again. At least, before his family wakes up.

Coming to a decision, Leo climbed up the ladder, lifted the manhole cover off, then rose out into the sweet air and open space of New York.

The manhole he came out of was in the middle of a street, but thankfully, no one was around to spot him. Leo rushed to the closest alleyway and promptly traveled up the fire-escape to the rooftop.

It was as if the heavy weight on his shoulder lifted a little. There was no enclosed rooms, no tunnels, no bedrooms, nothing for Leo to trap himself in. Everywhere he looked, he saw buildings of different sizes, multiplying like grass. The sky was still dark, but beautiful colors of red and orange were painted behind the buildings. Freedom and relief hit Leo as he basked in the moment of finally being out of the sewers. It was a similar feeling to coming out of the sewers for the first time, all so long ago. But this was a different kind of freedom, and this was something Leo had no time to waste on.

He raced over the rooftop buildings, jumping from one to another. He knew which direction he was going.

A couple of minutes later, he saw it.

Shredder's hideout.

It was a right across from the building Leo stood on. There were still no sign of lights coming from the windows, but that didn't mean the church was empty. Leo narrowed his eyes at Shredder's hideout. What was Shredder doing inside? Planning another attempt at hurting his family again?

A blinding light suddenly punched the corner of Leo's eye and he turned to see what it was. He gasped.

There, between the city buildings from a far distant, was the sun rising above the horizon. The fiery colors of red, orange, and yellow surrounded the sun and splashed themselves over the sky and clouds. The sun released a heavenly glow, and it was beautiful.

Leo couldn't remember ever seeing a sunrise before. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember if he ever saw a sunset either. But now watching this, Leo wished he had seen more of those. Maybe he could show his brothers this amazing view. But it would have to be sunset. Raph and Mikey would be very grumpy early in the morning. But Donnie and Master Splinter might like this. Heck, maybe April's seen this before. Maybe she could join them on experiencing something like this with them . . .

 _Oh wait, that can't happen,_ his face dropped at the thought. He was avoiding them, building a wall between him and his family.

Still . . . It was nice to think about it.

Leo walked toward the sunrise and lay his arms over the rails. He continued to watch the sun rise higher and higher over the buildings, tranquility soothing him.

* * *

Watching the sunrise was one of Karai's favorite pastimes. Especially after long nights of doing her father's dirty work. She didn't mean to stay up to see the sunrise, but it always brought her tranquility.

Karai couldn't stand her father. She wanted to love him; he had been her father for her whole life. But he was just so cold to her and disapproved everything she did. It was like, no matter what she does, she will never be good enough to be as great as him. Perhaps that was the way of the ninja: to always be cold and distant in order to be more powerful than their enemies.

Karai touched the cut on her cheek from when her father, in a fit of rage, threw a shuriken at her when she refused to leave him. Karai understood that she deserved it; she had disobeyed her father. But still . . . she had never suffered a physical abuse from him.

He wasn't thinking. He was too angry to think. Maybe, once Hamato Yoshi and the turtles are dead, he will finally be a bit warmer toward her.

Sighing, Karai stood up and took one last look at the sunrise. Still so beautiful.

She turned to retire inside when she froze, her eyes catching something from a distant.

Hamato Leonardo was standing on another building across from hers, gazing at the sunrise.

Karai frowned. This could be her chance to finish him, the start of finishing the Hamato clan. A smirk suddenly appeared on her lips. But first, some fun.

* * *

The sun now sat on top of the distant buildings. A sea of flaming colors rippled over the rooftops.

Leo gave out a long sigh. His family would have loved this. He took out his T-Phone and brought up a selfie picture of his brothers, sensei, April, and Casey. Leo remembered that day. It was on April's birthday, and he, his brothers, and Casey worked hard on making the best birthday party April has ever had (especially since it was her first birthday with her dad still missing and still a mutant bat). Of course, Donnie did all of the planning and Mikey brought in all the food and games, but Leo and Raph nevertheless helped out. It was a great birthday party. And it all happened a week before Leo was kidnapped by the Foot Bots.

All of a sudden, Leo's ninja senses went tingling. He was not alone. Leo slowly placed his T-Phone back on his belt.

Leo rapidly whirled around and threw a shuriken. It stabbed a Foot Bot, pinning it against a chimney behind it.

Their cover blown, a gang of Foot Bots appeared out of the shadows, cornering Leo. Leo counted; there were seven of them.

Leo pulled his katanas out. Finally, the challenge has come to him.

With their weapons raised, the Foot Bots charged after Leo. But Leo was ready. He instantly knocked one Foot Bot's weapon out, then decapitated the robot. He kicked the headless Foot Bot in the chest, knocking another Foot Bots out. Leo slashed the other Foot Bots in pieces, ruthlessly cutting their arms off, cutting their bodies horizontally and diagonally, and decapitating even more heads.

In less than two minutes, Leo now stood over a sea of chopped up Foot Bots, their body parts littered all over the rooftop. Leo took a moment to breath. He was getting stronger and faster.

There was a slow clap behind him and Leo turned to see Karai casually sitting on top of the chimney, right over the pinned Foot Bot. She placed her hands on the edge, smirking at Leo. "I gotta say, Leonardo. You've become more brutal than our last encounter."

Leo growled. Karai. The one he had hoped was a good and honorable ninja warrior, only for her to disappoint him by torturing him and injecting the mind-control device inside of him.

Karai stood up, flipped over, and landed before Leo. She straightened up, her hand on her hip. "Though you really don't strike me as the brutal type. Your brother, Raphael, yes. But you?" Karai tsked. "Not by a long shot."

Leo didn't respond, just glaring at her.

"What? No comment?" She said.

Leo pulled back his katana and goes to slice her, only for her to barely miss his sword.

"Hey, what-" Karai quickly pulled out her own sword in time to block Leo's katana in another attempt to slash her. Their swords clanged at each other.

Karai sighed. "You're no fun anymore."

Leo's only response was to push her back so hard, she bumped hard against the rails of the rooftop. Leo ran toward her, his katanas ready. But Karai jumped over him, causing Leo to hack his katanas at the rails.

Karai stepped forward and they both began their fight against each other. Unlike their previous battles, Leo had become much vicious, quicker, and stronger, proving a challenge to Karai. She was still an excellent warrior, but Leo had succeeded five levels above her.

They fought around the rooftop for a long while. In desperation, Karai threw pieces of Foot Bots at Leo, but he merely pushed them aside, solely focused on her.

As they fought, Karai noticed a dramatic change in Leo. His face was hard and furious, showing her no mercy. And she knew she was part of the reason he was like that.

Finally, Leo knocked her sword out of reach and harshly kicked her to the floor. Before she could get up, Leo kneeled down, stabbed one katana through her left shoulder sleeve, then used the second katana to point at her neck, pinning her down, helpless and defeated.

Both became very still, staring back at each other. One with a hard expression, the other slightly frightened.

He could do it. One slash and she's gone. He had the power. He could do it.

 _But you know who she really is_ , a sudden thought reminded Leo. _She is Miwa. She is Splinter's daughter._

Master Splinter.

Leo removed his katana from her neck, but kept the other through her sleeve for now. He straightened up, towering over her.

"What, that's it?" Karai questioned him, though inside, she was relieved to still be alive.

Leo stood there, his eyes as cold as ice and his back toward the darker part of the sky.

He reached to his belt and pulled out a small scroll. "This is a message for the Shredder." His voice so sudden and so cold, Karai had a hard time believing it belonged to Leo. He tossed the scroll and it landed on Karai's stomach. "Make sure he gets it." His other hand finally ripped his second katana out of her sleeve, freeing her. He stepped back; Karai sat up, her eyes narrowed on him.

"And what if I don't?" she questioned him.

Leo merely stared at her. She will.

He sheathed his katanas. "Nice cut. Got it from Shredder?"

Karai's eyes popped wide open in shock, her hand immediately on her cut cheek. "That . . . that's none of your business!"

Leo studied her, disappointed. "I would have thought a father would treat his child better than that."

"You don't understand anything!" Karai shouted, standing up. But Leo was already making his way to the edge of the roof.

"No, _you_ don't understand anything," Leo said, though more to himself.

But Karai heard him. "What is that supposed to mean? Tell me, mutant!"

Leo paused, wondering if he should do it. Would she believe him? Could he save her from that demon? Would it really matter if he did tell her?

Leo looked over his shoulder at her. "Maybe you should make sure that that monster is your father. Maybe you should figure out who your _real_ father is."

Rage overwhelmed Karai's eyes. Leo jumped off the rooftop and rushed into the sewers before she could attack him with shurikens.

* * *

Shredder suddenly began chuckling when he finished reading Leo's message Karai had delivered to him in the throne room.

"What is it?" Karai asked him, concerned and confused at Shredder's reaction.

"It seems that this, Leonardo, demands that he battles with me."

Karai's eyes widened. "What? Is he crazy? He'll never last a minute against you."

"Exactly." His eyes scanned over the note. Suddenly, he stilled. "Hmmm. This is interesting."

Karai's eyebrows crossed. "What is?"

Shredder reread the part in the message that had caught his attention.

"Father?" She spoke.

Shredder glanced at her. "The turtle has given me a date on when this 'battle' should take place . . . and it is on the same date as when our plan commences."

"Really?" Karai said, very surprised.

"Yes." He rolled up the scroll. "What an intriguing coincidence."

"You're not thinking of actually going, are you?"

Shredder took his time walking down the steps. "This would be a nice addition to the plan. And a sweeter revenge on my enemies." He turned to Karai, who remained by the throne. "We will have to make adjustments, but this cannot fail. When Razhar and Fishface return, inform them to meet me in the Planning Room."

"Yes, Father," Karai bowed to him.

As soon as Shredder was gone, Karai walked up to a window, overlooking the morning blanketing the city. But her mind was plagued with furious thoughts toward Leonardo.

Is he crazy? Challenging the Shredder to a fight? What would he gain out of this, death?

And how dare he imply that Shredder wasn't her father? Of course he was! He has been her father since she was a baby!

Her head turned up to an approaching, blackened cloud. She'll show him. She'll prove that Shredder was her real father. And then, she'll smash the evidence right in Leonardo's face, and beat him up for wanting to challenge Shredder.

* * *

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

A hockey puck smashed right into a poor, beaten up trash can.

"Ha! Bullseye!" Casey exclaimed. "Your turn, Raph!"

Raphael picked up another one of Casey's spare pucks lying on the ground and threw it at the trash can. The puck bashed into the can with a loud _bang_ , leaving another huge dent on it.

"Woah, nice one!" Casey said.

It was late afternoon and, despite there still being daylight, Raph and Casey hung out in an empty alleyway, spending the hours hitting trash cans with spray-painted targets on them. They had already destroyed two other trash cans, and they were almost done beating up the third one.

"You okay, man?" Casey asked as Raph was busy picking up the pucks surrounding the third trash can. "You've been kinda quiet since we started."

Raph sighed, making his way back to Casey with his hands full of hockey pucks and setting them down between him and Casey. "Yeah, sorry Case. I guess I've had my mind on other things."

Casey raised an eyebrow. This wasn't like Raph.

Casey pushed a puck with his hockey stick in front of him, taking aim at the trash can. "So, Leo's still not out?"

Raph leaned back against a wall behind them. "No." There was venom in his voice.

Casey pulled his stick back and hit the puck. It punched against the can's surface, close to the painted bullseye. "And you haven't break that door down and dragged him out yet?"

Raph bended over to take another puck. "I want to, I really want to, but I can't. Splinter said Leo would only pull further away from us." He threw the puck harder. There was a louder _bang_ , a deeper dent on the trash can. Casey went to aim his second puck.

"Hey, Casey, you got a sister, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Has she ever done what Leo's doing?"

Case hit his puck. The puck slammed into the trash can, but left behind a small dent. "Oh yeah, tons of times. Whenever she doesn't get her way, she'd lock herself up in her room for hours. But she's never gone through a month in there. I guess she got bored of her own room."

Raph picked up a puck, glaring at it. His hand tightened it with fury and, with a growl, threw it at the trash can so hard, it almost created a hole on the can. "Leo hates us, that's why he won't come out!"

"Dude!"

Raph shot a scowl at Casey. "I've tried talking to him! I've tried! But nothing! He won't even speak to me! Talking to him has done nothing! He's still in that stupid room, avoiding us!" He picked up another puck and threw it, missing the trash can and hitting the wall instead. "It's Shredder's fault! His and that stupid mind-control bug's fault! They must have messed his brain up or something! _He_ changed him! _He_ made him ignore us! _He_ made Leo hate us! IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!"

His rage uncontrollable, Raph stormed to the trash can and kicked it savagely. The trash can crashed into the wall behind it, falling and collapsing at Raph's feet.

Raph panted heavily. Casey walked up to the wall beside the fallen trash can, leaning against it. "You okay, Raph?"

Rage drained from Raph, like hot water down the sink. He sighed, feeling tired. "I just . . . I miss him. I'm so use to seeing him around, training with him, going out on missions with him . . ." Raph leaned over next to Casey and slid down on the wall until he was sitting down. "I . . . I just don't know what to do with him."

Casey slid down to join Raph. "Well, what would you do if you were in his shoes - or uh, shell?"

Raph paused. "I'd probably be mad at myself for not snapping out of it sooner. And I guess I'd be upset for what I did too." He rubbed his throat, remembering the brainwashed Leo towering over him, the tip of his katana so close to stabbing right through his neck. If Raph knew Leo, his brother would have never forgiven himself for what he almost done, despite being forced to do it.

"Would you have locked yourself in your room for a whole month?" Casey asked him.

Raph thought. "I don't know. Maybe not _that_ long."

Casey picked up a nearby puck, playing a game of toss and catch with it. "Look, if talking's not helping ya, then you just gotta force him out of that room and _get_ him to talk."

"But Master Splinter-"

"No offense to your sensei, but is this 'giving him some space' thing working out?"

Raph couldn't help but shake his head.

"Yeah, if it were me, I would knock," Casey emphasized by punching his palm. "that door down, pulled Leo out, and then make him talk, or else I will cut out his tongue if he doesn't. But that's just me."

Raph smirked at him. "Not a bad idea, Casey."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for."

Raph shook his head, then thought back to Leo. He couldn't help but admit that Casey was right. If Raph doesn't confront Leo soon, who knows what was happening to Leo behind closed door.

Just then, Raph's ringtone went off. He took out his T-Phone and answered it. "Hey, what's up?"

"Raph, where are you right now?" the voice of Donnie immediately came out from the phone.

"I'm hanging out with Casey above ground."

"Well, come back to the Lair. There's something you need to see."

He exchanged looks from Casey. "We're on our way," Raph told Donnie before he hung up.

"What's that about?" Casey asked as Raph stood up.

"Dunno. I guess we'll see once we get back to the Lair."

* * *

Deep in the realms of Dimension X, the alien race of Kraang were busy filling up jars and weapons with perfected mutagen. They were also busy finishing up the last touches of their new weapons and vehicles. They were so close to ready.

One Kraang robot approached to the screen in the control room. He pressed his robotic fingers on the purple screen in front of it, rings of violet buttons appearing from beneath its fingertips. The alien looked up and a huge screen of the Kraang Prime appeared in front of it.

"Report," Prime Kraang demanded.

"The plan on which it is called 'Plan X Number 2' is very near to completion. Kraang shall be ready when one is given the word."

Kraang Prime smiled deviously. "Excellent. Once the one called Shredder initiates his part of the deal, Kraang will begin the plan on which it is known as 'Plan X Number 2'."

"What is the date to the plan on which it is called 'Plan X Number 2'?"

"Kraang Prime will speak to the one called Shredder. But the date on the commencing of the plan on which it is called 'Plan X Number 2' should not be long now. Soon, the Kraang's plan will finally succeed, and the ones called the turtles will not stop the Kraang this time!"

* * *

"This is Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe with another news report coming to you from Channel 6," the news reporter announced on the TV.

The three turtles, April, and Casey were currently in the living room of the Lair, watching the news. April and Donnie were standing closer to the TV, with April holding the remote control. Raph, Casey, and Mikey slouched on the couch, interested in what was going on, but bored with having to watch the news. Mikey was bored most of all.

"Ugh, why are we watching this?" Mikey moaned. "Why can't we watch something else, like cartoons and unfunny teen sitcoms?"

"Mikey, this is serious," Donnie told Mikey. "Now pay attention."

"Here it comes," April suddenly said, pointing the remote toward the TV.

"And now we go to our field reporter, Joan Grody," Gambe said. "Grody?"

The screen switched to a woman standing on a street, where two police cars were parked and yellow tape wrapped around the street. Behind the woman and the police cars was a ruined warehouse. "Thanks, Gambe. I am currently standing on the street of Eastman Circle, where this particular building right behind me exploded just a few minutes ago."

That got the attention of Raph, Mikey, and Casey. "Exploded?" said Raph.

"Thankfully, this warehouse has been abandoned for years. No one was present at the time of the destruction, and it seems that, according to an amateur's video recording of the event, the explosion was very contained in the warehouse, even though apartment buildings surround the warehouse," Grody continued.

Everyone in the room exchanged puzzling looks.

"The police have informed me that they are keeping watch over the warehouse and the streets for suspicious activities, and they request that, for their protection, the civilians living on the street of Eastman Circle stay indoors during the night and keep their doors locked until the police report that the danger has passed. Back to you, Gambe."

That was when April pushed pause on the report, freezing the TV screen. She faced the gang. "That was hours ago. Now, the police have called Eastman Circle safe, but still advice others to stay away from the warehouse."

"So what's so special about this warehouse?" Raph asked.

"It's not the warehouse that's special," April said. "It's the explosion."

"What do you mean by that?" Casey spoke, baffled.

"Maybe someone accidentally set off fireworks inside," Mikey suggested.

"I don't think so." Donnie kindly took the remote from April and fast-forwarded the prerecorded news report. He stopped and zoomed in on the screen, where a second, smaller screen appeared beside Gambe. It was a video recording that Grody had mentioned before. The amateur video wasn't clear, but there was a huge blast caught in mid explosion, covering the warehouse. "Take a closer look at the explosion. Does the color look familiar?"

Raph, Casey, and Mikey narrowed their eyes on the TV screen.

"Ooooo," Mikey first spoke. "It's purple smoke!"

"Smoke from when TCRI exploded," Raph realized.

"Exactly," Donnie said. "This must be the work of the Kraang."

"So what?" Casey asked, almost uninterested. "Was there something secret in that warehouse that those aliens-things wanted destroyed?"

"But what secret would they be trying to destroy?" asked April, a pondering finger on her chin.

"I don't know," Donnie replied, setting the remote on top of the TV. "But, coming from those creeps, it can't be good. We better go check it out."

Raph shrugged. "Fine by me. It's almost time for night patrol, so why not."

"Yeah!" Mikey jumped up. "Let's go investigate a dead building!"

The gang started heading out until Mikey said, "Wait!" The gang stopped and turned to Mikey, who had fallen behind and was glancing at the bedroom hallway.

"What, Mikey?" Donnie called to him.

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" Mikey said.

"Who? Master Splinter?" April asked.

No, Leo! Aren't we going to get him? He _is_ the leader! He oughta be coming with us, too!"

The gang didn't respond, taking an interest in looking anywhere but at Mikey.

"I'll go get him!" Mikey said cheerfully, oblivious to their silence. He instantly made his way toward Leo's door.

"Mikey, wait," Raph shouted, following him. Donnie followed after them, concerned. April and Casey trudged behind.

Mikey arrived and knocked on Leo's door. "Hey Leo! We got our first mission! The Kraang blew up a war house-"

"Warehouse!" Donnie corrected.

"So we're gonna go down there and do some ninja spy stealth stuff," Mikey continued. "Come on out so you can join us! We can't do this without our leader!"

The door coldly stared back at Mikey instead. But Mikey waited patiently for his brother.

Raph lay a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Look, Mikey. Leo didn't come out before, so there's no way he'll come out for this mission."

"Yes he will," Mikey said confidently. It was hard for Raph and Donnie to watch Mikey put so much faith in Leo coming out, even after an entire month of remaining in his room. "He always comes through for us," Mikey continued. "He'll lead us, just like he always does."

April and Casey sadly look at each other.

"You're right," Donnie suddenly jumped in before Raph could retort. "Leo always comes through. And I'm sure he will come out very soon. But maybe now's not the right time." Raph glared at Donnie, who could only give him a sharp look, as if to say, 'cool it for Mikey'.

"But then," Mikey said, innocently curious. "Who's gonna be our new leader?"

"We don't need a leader," Raph said, almost sternly.

Mikey beamed. "Maybe I can be the leader!"

"No!" Raph and Donnie instantly said.

"Look," Raph spoke. "We can talk about who gets to be leader later. We're already wasting time here."

"Right," Donnie agreed. "We have to go now."

Mikey looked disappointed, but turned a concerned eye at Leo's door. "But who's gonna keep Leo company?"

"Don't worry, Mikey," April stepped forward, smiling kindly at him. "I'll stay with him."

"Really?" Mikey gave April a bear hug. "Thanks!"

"Alright, turtles," Raph announced once Mikey released April from his hold.

"And Casey Jones!" Casey exclaimed.

"Right," Raph said. "Time to go above ground."

* * *

"Come on," Baxter Stockman moaned, carefully sawing on the mutagen collar around his neck with his human hand.

Baxter Stockman was all alone in his laboratory, making another futile attempt on cutting his collar off of him. If he wasn't too careful, he could break the glasses holding mutagen on the collar. And, if they break, the mutagen would touch him and turn him into a hideous mutant like those turtles, and those brainless goons that work for Shredder.

The saw snapped in half, causing Stockman to growl in frustration. He angrily threw the halves across the lab, not caring where they hit.

Stockman slumped on his desk, burying his face in his hands. "Stupid collar!" He groaned. "I would have thought Shredder would be decent enough to have it removed, but nooooooooo!"

"He prefers to have his minions in a leash," a voice suddenly spoke.

Stockman jumped in surprise. He quickly grabbed the first object his hand could find and used it as a weapon: an empty syringe. "Who's there?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself as Karai. "Really? You didn't recognize my voice?"

"Oh, you," Stockman frowned, lowering his syringe. "What do you want? I'm extremely busy."

"Sure you are," Karai said, rolling her eyes. "I need you to do something for me."

"I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait." Stockman returned to his desk and moved his equipment around, acting busy.

"This can't." Karai sat herself on his desk right next to Stockman. "I need you to do a very top-secret project. No one, not even the Shredder, must know about it."

"Forget it, lady! There's no way I'm working for you, or keeping my mouth shu-" He suddenly stopped when a smirking Karai held up a single key. "I'm listening," he said, instead.

"I need you to build a machine that will scan two DNA samples."

Stockman blinked. "That's it? No big, destructive weapon for you to abuse?"

"No," Karai replied. "This is something personal. Build it in a small, portable machine so you can hide it, or make it blend into those other science-y junk, I don't care. Just make sure it's done as soon as possible, and make sure no one, and I mean no one, knows about this." She hopped off the desk, twirling the key in her fingers right in front of Stockman. "If you do, I swear on my honor that you will get this key. You will finally be rid of that collar, hopefully before those glasses break. Do we have an understanding, Stockman?"

Stockman stared at the key intensely, his freedom so close within his reach.

"Fine," he said at last. "I'll do it. But what if . . ." He gulped, rubbing the collar. "It's too late?"

Karai shrugged. "That's your problem. Just let me know when it's done." Karai turned and walked away, leaving Baxter Stockman alone again.

His hands gripped on the collar. He'll finally be rid of it. At long last. He hurriedly rushed to his science equipment and began worked on the DNA machine.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Now the plot's starting to move forward. What are the Kraang up to?**

 **So this story seems to take place before Stockman turned into a mutant fly. That felt like a long time ago. But that explains why Tiger Claw isn't in this story and the last one.**

 **Obviously, Eastman Circle doesn't exist in New York, but it's actually a tribute to two men involved in the making of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe. Try and guess who they are (they should be very easy to guess).**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am so, so sorry I haven't updated in the last two Fridays. I've just been so busy with life, what with college and finding a place to move for the next semester. This chapter might not be worth the wait, but I hope you guys still like it. Enjoy, and I will try to update every Friday!**

Chapter 4:

When Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Casey made it to the ruined warehouse, the place was empty, and there were no policemen outside, though the "Do Not Cross" yellow straps still surrounded the building and street.

The turtles used their ninja skills to sneak through and land silently onto the floor. Casey, on the other hand, crashed into the floor noisily. Raph and Donnie glared at Casey as he straightened up.

"What?" He said, shrugging. "Some of us didn't become ninjas at age 1."

Donnie and Raph rolled their eyes. Mikey had already started walking around, exploring the building.

The inside of the warehouse appeared creepier than the outside. There was no light, except for the moon gleaming through the giant hole on the roof. There were no sounds and the scent was stale. Debris of what's left of the warehouse covered everywhere, making the ruined warehouse look more like a wild jungle. The gang had to crawl through the cracks of the debris in order to move around.

"Wow," Mikey said, his sky-blue eyes widened in awe of the destroyed warehouse. "This place is cool!"

Donnie took out a scanner and walked around, scanning. Raph and Casey joined Mikey in exploring the area.

"Hey, this _is_ cool!" Casey commented. "We could make this into a fort, or our own hideout!"

"Yeah!" Mikey popped out behind Casey, scaring him. "This place would be perfect for Hide-And-Seek!"

"So, what are we supposed to be looking for, Donnie?" Raph called out to his genius brother.

"Any signs of Kraang," he answered. "Or any reason for the Kraang to blow up this place."

Suddenly, Mikey shrieked. Raph, Donnie, and Casey immediately went to him and hurriedly pulled out their weapons, only to stop and groan. Mikey was on his knees, holding a burnt-up snack bag and crying.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Mikey cried, tenderly rubbing his head against it. "You must have been so delicious! You didn't have a chance!"

"Tell me again, why do you always bring him with you?" Casey asked Raph and Donnie, who returned to his scanner.

"I'm not about to lose another teammate," was Raph's answer, followed by, "DON'T YOU DARE EAT THAT!" to Mikey, who was about to taste a crispy chip from the burnt-up bag.

The group spent the next hour searching the decayed warehouse but found nothing of interest. Eventually, Raph, Casey, and Mikey got bored of searching and started a game of smashing at a debris until it crumbled.

"I don't get it!" Donnie finally shouted, close to throwing his scanner away. The three others stopped their game to look at a frustrated Donnie. "Nothing! There is no sign of Kraang anywhere! But then why did they blow it up? What was their purpose? What?! WHAT?!"

Mikey walked up to Donnie, resting a hand on Donnie's shoulder to calm him. "Hey, it's ok, bro. Maybe those alien dudes missed on their target?"

"And what target would that be?" Raph asked, his arms folded.

"Yeah," Casey said, tapping his hockey stick against a debris. "There's nothing interesting about this section of the city."

But Donnie didn't look convinced. "This has to do with the Kraang's invasion! I just know it!" He faced the others. "We need to scan the whole neighborhood. Back to the Shellraiser!"

Raph and Mikey groaned as Donnie headed out.

"Well," Casey shrugged, smirking. "Looks like you guys don't need me anymore, and my sister needs taken care of. So, I'll just go ahead and-" Raph grabbed him before Casey could make a run for it.

"Oh no you don't," Raph said. "If we have to suffer, you're suffering with us."

"Actually," Donnie called out, crawling through a hole on the wall. "Casey doesn't need to be with us anymore. But we'll call him when there's trouble."

Grinning at an angry Raph, Casey slipped from Raph's hold and made his leave. "See ya, turtles! Enjoy your search!"

* * *

"And then," April laughed. "When I told Irma what was in the food, she ran to the nearest tree and puked all over the place!"

It had been an hour since the guys left. And, during that time, April had decided to just tell Leo whatever stories that popped into her head. Since he doesn't seem to be coming out anytime soon, April might as well entertain him.

"And that is why Irma refuses to eat anything Casey gives her," April finished, still laughing from the memory.

Leo's door was dead silent. The longer she looked at it, the more awkward it became for her. Her laughter died down and she sat up from her spot, which was on the floor in the opposite direction of Leo's door.

April sighed, her eyes gazing down. It looked like she didn't do anything useful, wasting her time telling stories to a lifeless door.

"I enjoyed your story," a voice spoke. April turned her head to see Master Splinter approaching to her.

"Master Splinter!" April quickly stood up. "How are you?"

"I am well, April. Thank you." He looked at Leo's door, a pool of sadness in his eyes.

"He still hasn't come out," April told him. "Or talked to anyone of us."

Splinter sighed. "I know."

"Can't you talk to him? He'll listen to you, I know it!"

"I _have_ tried."

April's eyes widened. "What? And nothing?"

Splinter nodded.

"But Master Splinter," she said. "It's been a long time! Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and I have gone past all this! Why hasn't Leo? Why won't he come out?"

Splinter paused, staring at Leo's door. "Because he is facing a much more serious situation."

"What do you mean?" April asked.

"Leonardo is the leader of his brothers. If one of them is hurt, Leonardo is responsible for it. But to be the fault of wounding his brothers himself and almost killing them . . ."

April nodded. "I understand. I just wish he would open up to us. Maybe even let us see him once in a while." She suddenly noticed a grave look on Splinter's face. "What is it?"

Splinter paused even longer. "I fear for my son's well-being."

"Why?"

Splinter looked at April. "If one is cut off from others, then he wallows himself in his thoughts. Those thought could take him into a dangerous path . . . A path of revenge. "

"But Leo would never do that!"

"I nearly did," Splinter suddenly said. April's eyes widened even more. "When the Shredder destroyed my home and taken everything I loved . . . I wanted to hunt him down . . . And kill him."

A drop of water slipped from the ceiling and landed on the water under the tire swing, rippling over the still water. The practice dummy swung side to side ever so slightly, one dagger stabbed on its arm, another on its leg.

"Why didn't you?" April asked Splinter curiously.

"It was not what Tang Shen wanted of me. I could not bear the thought of disappointing her if I had done so. Thinking of her and my daughter was what kept me from insanity, from committing a terrible act and regretting it for the rest of my life. And now . . . Leonardo must face this same path and decide on a course of action. I just wish he choose wisely."

April glanced at Leo's door. "Why don't you tell Leo that? Maybe that will help him."

Splinter's eyes on Leo's door did not move at all. "He can hear everything through that door. If he has not come out or spoken to us . . . Then he has ignored what I have said."

* * *

Mikey groaned, banging his head against the map. "We've been searching for hours! Can we please go home now?"

"Actually, it's only been fifteen minutes," Donnie replied without looking away from the screens. "And no, not yet."

"Hey, come on," Raph said from the driver's seat. "We've been all over the streets, and we haven't found anything. Maybe this isn't a Kraang-related thing."

"But it doesn't make any sense!" Donnie said exasperatingly, thumping his fist on a screen (which, thankfully, didn't crack under his fist).

"Yeah, so does Mikey's dream to become the king of candyland," Raph replied.

"Hey, it could happen!" Mikey defended.

Donnie sighed. "Maybe you're right, Raph. Maybe it really is nothing."

"Wait, so does that mean we can go home now-"

All of a sudden, a deep boom shook the vehicle. Though it didn't feel like the Shellraiser was hit, the impact certainly hit them.

Raph screeched the Shellraiser to a halt. "What was that?"

Mikey pulled down the telescope and looked through. "Hey, I see smoke! The same one that came out of the warehouse!"

"Which way?" Donnie immediately asked.

"Uh . . . I think three miles on the right."

"Raph!"

"On it," Raph replied. Hitting the gas pedal, the Shellraiser drove down the streets toward the rising cloud of smoke.

When they arrived, Raph parked in the alleyway and the three went out to investigate. This time, the building was larger than the small warehouse, but it was abandoned nevertheless. Smoke was still everywhere, but that didn't stop Donnie. With his scanner out, he jumped right into the smoking building. Raph followed and Mikey was about to, until he spotted something from a distant. "Huh?" He said.

When Raph landed inside, he started coughing from all the smoke. The smoke was too thick for him to see, but he was able to spot his brainy brother a few feet from him.

Raph went to him. "Donnie?" He coughed once more, waving the smoke out of his face. Donnie was kneeling down and picking something up from the ground. "Hey, what did * _cough*_ what did you find?"

Donnie didn't respond, busy placing whatever he picked up in a small tube. Tucking it away in his belt, Donnie motioned Raph up. Raph nodded and they both slipped away from the destroyed building, climbing up to the nearest rooftop.

"What did you find, Donnie?" Raph asked him.

Donnie pulled the tube out. Inside was a small, purple-rose colored shard crystal. "I don't know. It's got the Kraang signature, and its reading is very powerful on my scanner. I'll have to study it in my lab."

"GUYS! GUYS!" Donnie and Raph turned to see Mikey running up to them with an alarmed face. "I just saw dark shadows leave the place! They were jumping over rooftops away from the burning building."

"Were they the Kraang?" Donnie asked.

"Don't know. It was too dark for me to see. Sorry."

"But why would the Kraang travel over rooftops?" Raph questioned. "Don't they travel on the streets, or by a spaceship or something?"

Donnie returned his gaze on the shard crystal. "I don't know. But the Kraang are definitely planning on something, and we're going to find out what it is."

 **A/N:**

 **Leo is still avoiding his family, even Splinter. Did he really hear Splinter's story, or did he really ignore it?**

 **And what does the shard crystal do? Is it important to the Kraang invasion? And who were the shadowy figures running away? Hmmm.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

A week had passed since the turtles witnessed the second explosion. And, unfortunately, more and more buildings each day were blown up in the same, Krang purple smoke. Each building was bigger than the last and, although the first couple were completely empty, the last couple were not. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey were able to save as many people as they could (all while keeping themselves hidden), but there were still the few that didn't make it. The news reporters were calling the series of explosions, "Terrorists Attacks," and the citizens of New York were in a panic. Yesterday was the only day that no explosions happened, but that still didn't set well with the New Yorkers, or the turtles underground.

All that week, Donnie busied himself by studying the shard crystal he found inside the second, shattered building. It turned out that the shard crystal was identical to the crystal Mikey had recovered from their first trip to Dimension X. Except that the shard wasn't 100% accurate from the Dimension X crystal. The one from Dimension X had a more natural quantity, while the one from the ruined building had a sort of mechanical structure to it, like it was made in a laboratory to be an exact replica of the Dimension X crystals. The shard crystal was still powerful enough to blow up an entire building, but now, this shard crystal could explode by command. Thankfully, the small shard crystal had broken off from the main part of the explosive wire, so the shard crystal was currently harmless.

"I believe that the Kraang are testing these crystals for their second invasion of New York City," Donnie concluded his observation and theories to the gang in his lab, which contained his two turtle brothers, April, and Casey.

"What makes you think that, Donnie?" April asked him.

"Yeah, wouldn't those Kraang just be destroying a big chunk of New York and scaring the people," Raph questioned, his arms crossed.

"It sure got the media shaken up," Casey pointed out.

"No. Every building the Kraang blew up have been stepping stones to the bigger plot," Donnie explained. "First, it was a small, abandoned building. Then a larger building. Then an even larger building. Then a building in a busy city. Then a building with people in it. These have been experimental." He suddenly slapped Mikey's hand when it was curiously reaching out toward the tube with the shard crystal inside it.

"So what?" Raph said. "The Kraang's planning on blowing up the entire city?"

"Actually," Donnie spoke anxiously. "I think that's exactly what the Kraang plan to do."

A dead silence chilled the room. April and Casey exchanged worried looks. Even Mikey stopped tapping on the glass where Mutagen Man was frozen in.

"My belief," Donnie continued. "Is that the Kraang plans to destroy all of New York and turn the place into another Dimension X."

There was a speechless pause. No one thought the Kraangs were capable of destroying a whole city; just invading it.

"Whoa," Mikey said. "That would be _so_ awesome if it wasn't, you know, New York."

"Totally," Casey agreed.

"So what do we do about it?" Raph finally spoke up.

"It's simple, bro," Mikey said, smiling at him. "We go and take down those creeps, ninja style!"

"Not yet," Donnie interrupted. "First, we need to find the Kraangs' new hideout and study their new technology. Then we destroy it before the Kraang uses it for their invasion. April, Casey, you two stay in the city and keep a lookout. Watch the news, see if you can find anything suspicious that could be Kraang related. And let us know if any other buildings blow up."

"You got it," said April. But Casey groaned.

"Aw, that's no fun," Casey moaned, twirling his hockey stick. "I was kinda hoping to kick some alien butts."

"Hey!" Mikey wrapped his arm around Casey. "Don't worry, dude! There's, like, a budzillion Kraang robots still flying around here!"

"And we promise to leave you a couple for you to chop up later," Raph finished, smirking.

"Sweet!" Casey grinned, high-fiving Raph and Mikey.

Donnie cleared his throat to get his brothers' attention. "Right. We leave tonight. Our first destination: TCRI."

* * *

"It's all finished, Mistress Karai," Stockman said nervously, presenting his new creation to her.

Stockman had indeed built a small, portable DNA Scanner. Though it looked more like two coffee makers glued together. There was a small screen sitting at the machine's feet, the data blank.

Karai turned to Stockman, her doubtful eyebrow crossed. "You sure this will work?"

"Are you doubting my superior intellect? Of course, it will work! I've had it tested many times, all 100% accurate!"

Karai stared at the portable machine, unsure. "Will it work on any sample?"

"I believe so. I've used skin samples and blood samples and-"

"Give me your hair," Karai suddenly commanded.

"W-what?" Stockman said, shocked. His hands quickly touched his afro.

Karai rolled her eyes. Her fingers reached to her hair and pulled a strand of hair out, placing them on the left lower plate of the machine.

"Oh, right," Stockman said in relief, realizing what Karai really wanted. Hurriedly, Stockman pulled out a small strand of his hair and lay them on the right lower plate. "And you just press on the screen," Stockman instructed, pressing his finger onto the screen. "And watch the genius happen!"

The machine suddenly started scanning, a thin ray of light covering every inch of both hair strands. On the screen, their hairs appeared and numbers started flashing under them.

And then, the thin lights disappeared and the number revealed a 0%. Karai smirked, satisfied.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I sure am ecstatic that we aren't related," Stockman said, cuddling his hair tenderly.

"Me too," Karai said. She turned to leave.

"Wait," Stockman called for her to stop. "What about my collar? I've done my part of the bargain! Now it's your turn!"

Karai turned back, the smirk still on her face. "You're right." She pulled out a key and twirled it around her fingers. "You have done your job, and I should keep my promise."

Stockman beamed at the sight of the key, reaching out for his chance of freedom from the collar.

"But then again," Karai stopped twirling the key. "If I give this to you, and you free yourself, I would have no chance of controlling you again. And you have been such a helpful minion to me."

Stockman's eyes dilated in fear, gulping. His fingers shook slightly, unable to figure out if they were supposed to lower or not. Stockman looked up at an unmoving Karai, waiting.

At last, Karai sighed and threw the key toward him. Stockman almost missed the key, but his shaking hands caught it in time. He gasped, holding the key delicately in his hands.

"If you tell my father of what you did for me," Karai told him in a firm tone. "I will personally make sure your hair isn't the only thing your body will miss."

"Y-yes, yes, o-of course," Stockman said, unable to look away from the key laying on the palm of his hand.

Karai turned and began to walk away, only for Stockman to stop her again. "Wait, Mistress Karai. As a scientist, I am naturally curious: how will you be able to get a DNA sample of the second subject?"

Karai didn't turn around. "I'll figure something out."

* * *

When Donnie, Raph, and Mikey snuck into the TCRI building, they found absolutely nothing.

It was still in shambles the last time the turtles were there, and it looked like no one, not even the Kraang, had been here for months. They must have abandoned the place and stationed somewhere else.

But where?

"Maybe they're still in that Technodrome we sank at the bottom of the ocean," Mikey suggested as the three of them rode in their Shellraiser after a failed search of the TCRI. "We can go swim down there and check it out!"

"No way," Raph immediately said from the driver's seat. "I'm not going back there. Not after all that mess I went through."

"Oh, right! When you were an adorable Kraang for a day! You were so cute, I wanted to keep you as a pet!" Mikey said gleefully, ignoring Raph's scowl at him.

"Still," Donnie said, looking over the monitors. "We should probably check it out. At least we do know the Kraang is still there. Maybe they're sending automatic bombs and have them set up from their headquarters - STOP THE VAN!"

Raph hit the brakes and the Shellraiser screeched to a halt. The vehicle jerked so hard, Mikey fell off of his seat and bumped his head on the back of Raph's seat.

"Yes, I'd like some cheese, ketchup, and a bunch of sewer apples on my pizza, thank you," Mikey mumbled dizzily. Raph punched Mikey's head. "Ow!" Mikey cried, rubbing his head.

"What is it, Donnie?" Raph turned to ask his genius brother, who was staring at one of the screens.

"There's a van parked in front of an alleyway."

"So?" Raph said.

Donnie looked at Raph. "There are Foot Bots taking boxes into the alleyway."

"Maybe they're building a birthday party for the Shredder," Mikey said optimistically.

"In the alleyway?" Raph questioned Mikey.

"It could be a _surprise_ birthday party!"

"Well, whatever it is, we better check it out." Raph stood up. "I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for Foot Kabobs."

"Wait, what about the Kraang?" Donnie reminded them. "And the whole, oh, I don't know, _the crystal bombings_?"

"We'll just check on the Foot and see if they're doing anything worth busting over," Raph assured him. "If they're not, then we'll go back to Kraang hunting." Raph pulled the door open. "Come on." He hopped off.

"Yeah, let's show those robots how _we_ do surprise birthday parties!" Mikey exclaimed, following Raph out the Shellraiser.

Donnie hesitated. If they get distracted for even a moment, then the Kraang will be closer to the start of their invasion.

Still . . . The Foot Clan was just as dangerous as the Kraang. Maybe just a quick peek.

Casting one last look at the screens just in case, Donnie jumped off the Shellraiser, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Shredder was in the middle of training in the highly-advanced training room when Karai walked in. When he spotted her, Shredder halted his training, straightening up. He was bare chested (except for some armor on his arms and shoulders). His gauntlet blades were drawn. "So?"

"The new Foot Bots are even better than the junk we had before. Those aliens sure know how to advance their technologies."

"Good." Shredder grabbed a wet rag nearby and soaked his sweaty skin with it. "They will be useful for important tasks. Tasks that I cannot afford to have them fail."

"You know," Karai said as Shredder began to leave. "I actually lost to those new Foot soldiers."

"Then you've lost your touch," Shredder responded back.

"Perhaps you're right." Karai turned around to face his naked back. "Then would you mind if we have a friendly duel?"

Shredder froze right at the door.

"Just so I can see if I really _have_ lost my touch," Karai added.

"I have more important matters to attend do instead of 'playing' with you," Shredder said without turning his head.

But Karai was already pulling her sword out. "Just a quick one. What's the harm? We both know you're the superior. I just need to know how long I can hold my own."

Shredder remained still. "It is a waste of my time. Report to your duties-"

Suddenly, Karai charged after him. Shredder quickly blocked her with his blades. Karai tried again to slice him, but Shredder pushed her back, charging after her now.

They slashed their weapons at each other, both blocking and both missing their marks. Shredder was a far better fighter than her, and Karai was trying her best to protect herself, while also attempting to cut anything the tip of her sword could touch on him.

But, before she knew it, she was roughly pushed to the ground, a blade resting against her neck.

Both hers and Shredder's sharp eyes were at each other. Their panting echoed the large, empty room.

"How long have you lasted with the new Foot ninjas?" Shredder asked her.

"One minute."

Shredder retracted his blades. "You lasted two minutes with me." He turned and walked back toward the door. "If you attack me like that again, you will be punished." He disappeared out the door, leaving Karai alone.

She stood up and glared at the door. Then, she raised her sword to her eyes.

Stained on the tip of her sword was Shredder's blood.

* * *

"Be careful!" Razhar shouted at the Foot Bots carrying another large box into the alleyway. "You don't want to drop them?"

"Yes," Fishface agreed. "Some of us actually _have_ lives that matter!"

"You!" Razhar's voice boomed at Fishface. "Get down to the sewer and make sure those crystals are in place."

"I don't want to go back down there! I've had enough of going to that miserable, disgusting place! Why don't you?"

"Because Master Shredder assigned me to supervise on the surface and guard the project," Razhar replied gleefully. "And he wants _you_ down there. Better not disappoint our Master."

Fishface growled before forcing himself down through the manhole.

Hidden on a rooftop above them were three turtles, watching over them.

The Foot Bots lowered the box beside the manhole and opened it. There, inside the box, were purple-ish pink crystals.

Both Donnie and Raph's eyes popped wide open.

"Hey," Mikey said, his eyes narrowed at the crystals. "Those crystals look like-" Raph hurriedly covered Mikey's mouth and pulled him away from sight. Donnie followed them just in time to avoid Razhar glancing up at the rooftop.

"They _are_ the crystals, you numbnut," Raph quietly exclaimed to Mikey, who finally looked shocked at this revelation.

"I don't get it," Donnie said, now deeply confused and stunned. "Did Shredder have those crystals all this time? Was _he_ the one blowing up those buildings? Were the Kraang involved at all?"

"Well, where do you think Shredder got those crystals from?" Raph said.

"Christmas stores?" Mikey said. Raph and Donnie glared at him. "What?"

"But why is he blowing up buildings," Donnie asked, pacing. "What do they accomplish? What _is_ his big plan? And why is he having his goons set up those crystals in the sewer instead of . . ."

The horrifying answer flashed in each of their eyes.

"Shredder's planning on blowing up our home," Raph was the one to speak it aloud.

"No, no, that's not going to happen," Mikey said, trying to be positive. "Shredder doesn't even know where we live! Our most top secret of all secrets is still a secret! I mean, someone we know would have to have told him!"

"Like Leo?" Donnie suddenly said. Alarm slammed into all of their eyes.

"But . . ." Mikey tried to say. "But Leo wouldn't . . ."

"Leo wasn't in his right mind, remember?" Raph said, anger burning in him again. He leaned over the rooftop. "Time to give those freaks a lesson on taking advantage of my brother."

"Raph, don't!" Donnie grabbed Raph's arm, stopping him from jumping off the rooftop. But, before Donnie could pull Raph back, they were spotted.

"Hey!" Razhar shouted, his eyes up on the turtles. "It's those mutant turtles. Get them!" The Foot Bots dropped the box and climbed up the rooftop. "I SAID DON'T DROP THEM!" Razhar shrieked.

"Okay, new plan," Donnie quickly said to his brothers, each of them pulling out their weapons. "Get the crystals. I'll find the bomb remote and disable it." Raph and Mikey nodded. The three jumped off and smacked the Foot Bots to the ground. The Foot Bots that they missed released their hold and fell down into a fight with the turtles. A battle between the turtles and the robots commenced.

"Hey!" Razhar shouted down the manhole. "It's time to go!" More Foot Bots popped out and Fishface crawled out last, the stench of sewer stuck on him.

"Oh finally!" Fishface gasped when he saw the turtles. "A nice fight with the turtle freaks."

But Razhar grabbed his arm forcefully before Fishface went to join the fight. "There is a better solution to getting rid of these pest. Come on!" Using his free hand to grab the box of crystals, he dragged Fishface out of the alleyway, while the Foot Bots and the turtles continued to battle.

Before Razhar and Fishface could even get into the van, however, one of the mutant turtle jumped right in front of them, raising his blade at them.

"All right, you two," Donnie said firmly. "Give me the crystals and no one gets hurt."

"I would be delighted to be the one to hurt you," Fishface stepped forward.

Razhar instead laughed, but it was directed at Donnie. "I think you'll be too busy to catch us." Before Donnie could ask, Razhar pulled out the bomb remote. Donnie immediately ran to it, but Fishface kicked him away, causing him to crash into a nearby car.

With a wicked grin on his mutated face, Razhar pressed the button on the remote.

A large explosion burst from the alleyway. The ground shook madly like an earthquake. Purplish smoke poured out of the alleyway as the shaking slowed to a stop.

Donnie held his arms over his head, peeking out. There were large, vine-like cracks spreading over the two buildings on the left and right of the alleyway, but they still stood. No one came out of the alleyway. Not even . . .

"No!" Donnie shouted in horror, pulling himself up and running toward the alleyway. Razhar and Fishface made a break for it and drove away in their van with their box of crystals safely with them.

Donnie couldn't go further into the alleyway, though, for there was one giant scar on the ground. Broken pieces of stone lay between the two buildings like puzzle pieces crumbled inside the gap. All the Foot Bots were among the ruins, either burnt up or destroyed terribly from the explosion. But there were two beings Donnie desperately searched but could not find.

Raph and Mikey.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Oooooo, the plot thickens even more. Turns out, it was Shredder destroying the buildings. But why? And are Raph and Mikey ok?**

 **And Karai has her own DNA portable machine. What is she going to do with it? Will she use Shredder's blood on it? Will she finally discover who her father really is?**

 **Tune in next Friday to see what happens next! And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are coming back this coming Sunday! Go see it!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi there! Sorry I didn't update last Friday. I was busy packing and moving to my new apartment.**

 **Now that my college has started, I'm going to be even busier with schoolwork and junk. So instead, I will be updating every other Fridays. Hope this will work out for all of us.**

 **With that said, we now continue with the story.**

Chapter 6:

"NO! RAPH! MIKEY!" Donnie dug his way through the crumbles of the now destroyed ground of the alleyway, pushing the debris and broken Foot Bots away in desperation.

"RAPH!" Donnie screamed, throwing away more debris. "MIKEY! RAPH! MIKEY!"

Suddenly, a little farther away from him, broken pieces of stone shook. Donnie noticed this and immediately rushed over to the area, digging his way through it. "Mikey! Raph! Can you hear me?"

All of a sudden, Mikey burst out of the debris surface, taking a deep breath. But he came out from behind Donnie, so his unexpected appearance caused Donnie to jump violently in alarm.

Mikey coughed, pulling himself further out until his body stood over the sea of rubble. He looked over himself, shocked. "I'm alive? I'm alive!" He let out a "Woo-hoo!" pumping his fists in the air, only to fall on his knees, clutching his head and groaning. "Still alive," he muttered.

"Mikey!" Donnie exclaimed, instantly moving toward his baby brother. Relief and joy swept his heart seeing that Mikey was okay. Mikey didn't look too wounded from the explosion, except for a few cuts and scratches here and there, not to mentioned a bruise on his head and dust covering his body. "What . . . How . . ."

"Hold that thought, Donnie," Mikey said, holding his hand up to stop Donnie. Without another word, Mikey plunged his hands back into the surface of debris and pulled out something heavy. Before Donnie could ask Mikey what he was doing, out of the rubble in Mikey's hands came Raph.

"Raph!" Donnie shouted, running over and helping Mikey lift Raph out of the crumbled remains.

Raph looked worse than Mikey. He too had cuts and scratches, but he also had small bruises all over his skin, a large bump on his head and a huge, ugly looking bruise on his shoulder blade. He was groaning and whimpering, as if he was half-conscious to the world around him. Raph must have taken most of the hit from the explosion.

Donnie and Mikey carefully wrapped his arms around their shoulders and carried Raph over the crumpled alleyway, out onto the (thankfully) empty street.

"Raph?" Mikey spoke to Raph, worry painted in his voice. "Raph, are you okay, bro?"

"I'm," Raph mumbled between groans. "I'm gonna . . . I'm gonna find them . . . And . . . And wring their necks . . . with my bare hands . . ."

"He's fine," Mikey smiled at Donnie. He turned back to Raph. "I told you you had a thick shell!"

Mikey patted Raph's back shell (very close to the wounded shoulder), only causing Raph to moan louder. "Oops," Mikey said, guilty. "Sorry, Raph!"

"Let's put him here," Donnie ordered, leading the two others to a building wall. He and Mikey gently lay Raph down against the wall and Donnie kneeled down to check on Raph.

"I still can't believe you two survived that explosion," Donnie said in awe as he checked Raph's wounded shoulder, being careful not to hurt him anymore. "With a blast like that, I didn't think anyone could have survived that."

"Come on, D," Mikey replied proudly. "We're ninjas! We can survive anything! No purple boomy blast could kill this awesome team!" He waved his arms around and made a sound like an experienced, awesome ninja like he was.

"No, we were lucky," Raph said instead. "We were actually up on the fire escape when the sewer exploded. We fell down right when it blew-ouch-quit it, Donnie," Raph pushed Donnie's hands off him. "I'm fine! We're wasting time! We gotta go after Razhar and Fishface and get that-"

"They're long gone, Raph," Donnie interrupted.

"What? Why didn't you go after them?!" Raph demanded.

"Oh gee, you're right, I should have," Donnie responded sarcastically. "Perhaps I should have followed them instead of CHECKING TO SEE IF MY BROTHERS WERE STILL ALIVE!"

Raph looked away. He wouldn't say it, but he probably would have done the same, too.

"Uh, dudes," Mikey suddenly said, looking down the street. "I hear something. Is that a new kind of disco? I don't know if I'd rock to it."

Raph and Donnie listened and recognized the approaching sound as sirens.

"We gotta get back to the sewers." Donnie turned back to Raph. "Can you make it there in this state?"

Raph was already attempting to stand up, which he was able to do without collapsing (though he still cringed from the pain). "Less talking, more hiding," was Raph's reply.

Before Donnie could speak, Raph rushed to the manhole on the street and he and Mikey pulled the cover aside. They quickly jumped in and, seeing the blinking lights of red and blue coming, Donnie followed inside and hurriedly pulled the manhole cover back in its place.

Right before the police cars rolled over it.

* * *

Karai was tired, but she refused to sleep. She still had her own mission to complete. She had to know.

She snuck into Stockman's Lab once again and found the lab empty, with the mutagen collar sitting on the desk. Stockman must be out enjoying his freedom.

Karai made her way over to the DNA Scanner. Having seen how it worked before, Karai saw no reason to turn it on herself. After flipping the switch, turning it on, Karai took out a flask containing Shredder's blood, pouring it in one side of the platform. Then, she pulled out a dagger, removed her glove to cut her bare finger, and dabbed her blood in the second platform.

The DNA machine took a moment to scan both the blood samples. In one minute, the scanning ceased and the result was displayed on the screen.

0% Match.

Karai couldn't help but gasp. _No_ , she thought. _This can't be true!_ She did the test again. Same result. She tested again, the same. Again, same. Again, same. Ten tests on the same blood samples and the answer always came up the same.

Shredder was not Karai's true father.

Her mind was blank and her legs weaker. She couldn't believe it. There must be a mistake. She was Shredder's daughter. She was always Shredder's daughter from birth. He was the one who raised her. He was the one who trained her. She was Oroku Karai!

. . . Was she?

She couldn't breathe anymore. The 0% sign stared back at her cruelly. Shredder was never her birth father. He lied to her. Everything she knew, everything she lived through, everything . . . Was a lie?

Her fists started shaking, desiring to punch something. Something hard; something for her to release all her shock. Her anger. Emotions of all kind shook her, but her body and mind seemed too numb to do or think of anything.

But then, one thought finally made it to her mind: If Shredder was not her father, then . . . Then who was?

And then, she remembered Shredder telling her of Hamato Yoshi. The one whom Shredder said had ruined her life, the one who killed her mother and almost stole her from Shredder. If Shredder had lied about her birth . . . Could he have lied about Hamato Yoshi too? Could Hamato Yoshi be . . .?

No! That couldn't be! Could it? Karai groaned; she was so confused. Her mind suddenly called back to times when she had encountered Hamato Yoshi in his rat form. And, each time, he had looked at her with strong despair and longing. Like a man staring at his lost child.

Karai had to be sure. She has to know if he is her true father. Her eyes narrowed on the blood on the DNA Scanner. Maybe the scanner can help her out one last time.

* * *

"This is bad," Donnie said frantically.

Raph and Mikey sat side by side against the sewer tunnel wall as Donnie kneeled before them, cleansing their bruises with a spare rag Donnie drenched from the waters behind him.

"This is really bad," Donnie continued, panicking. "Shredder's gonna try to blow up our home again! Only this time, he might actually succeed! He knows where we live and he has the weapon to do it! It's only a matter of when!" He finished his cleansing and started to pace in front of his two brothers, who just stared at him (though Mikey's eyelids were starting to sag). "We're gonna have to move immediately! But where? To another part of the sewer? Should we get out of town? What would Master Splinter say? And Leo?"

"Donnie," Raph finally interrupted Donnie, rubbing his aching shoulder blade. "Don't worry. No one is leaving the Lair. We will stop Shredder before he makes a move."

"Yeah, Donnie! Chillax," Mikey said cheerfully. "We'll beat that Shred-head like we always do! We're an unstoppable team!"

Donnie sighed, feeling a little better. "You're right. At least we know how Shredder will do it. We just need to get his crystals before he starts planting them in the Lair."

"Then why don't we pay our 'special friend' a visit?" Raph pounded his fist with a smirk on his face. He straightened up, only for his knees to buckle, groaning.

"I don't think now's the best time to act," Donnie said, pulling out his T-Phone to check the time. "It's past one o'clock. You need rest, and we all need some sleep. Especially Mikey," he added after glancing at Mikey, who no appeared tired.

"No I don't," Mikey complained, fighting a yawn. "I'm not sleepy. See?" He stood up and began to walk forward, only to collapse, falling fast asleep.

"Come on, Raph," Donnie said, slowly picking up a sleeping Mikey and pulling him on Donnie's back.

"Yeah, coming." Raph followed Donnie down the tunnel, feeling tired himself. He stretched his aching shoulder, rolling it around. There were still pain, but not as terrible as a couple of minutes ago. "Hey, aren't you tired too?" He asked Donnie.

"Nah, I'm always up late, working on my projects."

"Of course you would be," Raph muttered.

Just then, Raph stopped. Right beside him was a hole leading to another tunnel. There was a faint sound echoing in the tunnel. The sound of grunting and clanging. But the voice . . . Raph knew that voice anywhere.

He glanced at Donnie, who went deeper into the tunnel, Mikey still on his back. None of them noticed Raph stopping, nor did they appear to hear the noise.

Without another word, Raph entered the echoing tunnel and followed the sound. He came across a crossroad and entered the tunnel where the sound of grunting and clanging were clearer, but still a little faint.

Eventually, he reached to a tunnel that was boarded up with a "Do Not Enter" sign on it. But there was a rectangle hole on the boarded wall, and the sound of grunting was coming right through the hole. It was louder, no longer faint.

Anger spiked him, but Raph pushed it down. He needed to see him first. It's been too long.

Raph crawled through the hole (though it was a struggle with his injuries), through the tunnel, and came into a large room with iron platforms of three floors rising up to a sewer grate on the ceiling. There, for the first time in a long time, he saw Leo.

At first, Raph didn't know what to think, what to feel. Leo was high up on the top floor, fighting a dummy. He wanted to run up there and squeeze him in his arms, but he also wanted to punch Leo for hiding from him, from his family. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to kick something, but also to hug something. That was his brother, right there! Finally outside of his bedroom! Fighting a dummy-

Wait.

Leo's fighting style had changed, Raph noticed. It was more brutal, merciless, and aimed to kill. His fighting buddy took all the stabs and beatings from Leo.

Raph opened his mouth to shout to him when Leo decapitated the dummy's head and kicked it away. The head fell down and landed with a _clang_ at Raph's feet.

There, a poor copy of Shredder's helmet covered the dummy's head.

His eyes widened with shock. Raph looked up at Leo, who glanced over the rails and froze at the sight of Raph.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Raph shouted, his voice shaking the room. Leo said nothing, speechless. His eyes were even wider with absolute horror. As if Raph wasn't supposed to witness this.

And that just made Raph angrier.

Raph picked up the Shredder helmet and furiously waved it at Leo. "IS THIS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS WHOLE TIME?! YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING TO KILL THE SHREDDER?!"

Leo's hands were shaking madly. His breathing quickened. Raph almost felt sorry for shouting at Leo, but he couldn't help it.

But then, Leo looked away, blankness concealing his face, and went to work on taking down the dummy.

"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME AGAIN, LEO!" Raph bellowed, climbing up the stairs. "THAT'S ALL YOU'VE EVER DONE! LOCKING YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM WITH YOUR DOOR CLOSED TO US! NOW IT TURNS OUT YOU'VE BEEN PLANNING ON REVENGE! HASN'T MASTER SPLINTER TOLD US THAT REVENGE IS A TERRIBLE IDEA?! THAT IT COULD LEAD TO ONE'S OWN DESTRUCTION?!"

By the time Raph made it to the top, Leo had already tucked the dummy away in the piles of trash and started his way down, keeping his slightly trembling back to Raph.

"Leo, don't you do this to me!" Raph chased after him down the stairs, close to desperation. "Leo, talk to me! I want to help! Why won't you talk to me?"

When Leo didn't respond, Raph growled and threw the helmet toward Leo, only hitting the wall instead. "LOOK AT ME, LEO! SAY SOMETHING!"

But Leo refused and headed straight for the tunnel, his body trembling even more. Raph, extremely furious but crushed, ran to Leo and grabbed his brother's shoulder to pull him around. "Leonardo! Please, let me in!"

At Raph's touch, Leo suddenly grabbed Raph's hand and flipped him over, throwing him against the wall beside the tunnel. The impact slammed against Raph's bruised shoulder and Raph screamed in pain, clutching his shoulder.

Leo's face struck with horror. "Raph! Raph, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean . . ." He was lost for words, wanting to go help Raph. But something was blocking him from his brother. He glanced at the tunnel, total shame and devastation in his eyes. "I . . . I'm so sorry, Raph."

"No, it . . . It's okay," Raph muttered, rubbing his sore shoulder. "It's not your fault. Got caught up in an explosion-" Raph looked up only to see Leo already leaving through the tunnel. "LEO!" he cried out. He straightened up, but the pain of his shoulder was slowing him down. "LEO, COME BACK! LEO! LEO!"

But Leo was already gone.

 **A/N:**

 **Oooooooo, things are getting angsty! Now that Raph found out about Leo's plan, what will he do? What about the rest of the family? What will Leo do?**

 **And Karai knows the truth about Shredder. What will she do now?**

 **The plot is thickening, and it will only get worse and intense. Get ready!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! And be sure to watch the new episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sunday on Nickelodeon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So last chapter, I only got one review, which made me very nervous. I hope that doesn't mean that there was something you didn't like about the story. If there is, please let me know.**

 **Anyway, on with the show!**

Chapter 7:

"And then, he just ran off," Raph finished his tale to his family, who all looked concerned and alarmed. "I tried going after him, but he was already gone."

When Raph made it back to the Lair, he hurriedly went straight to his brothers and Sensei (who were all gathered in the kitchen) and immediately told them what he had witness and the terrible truth of what Leo planned to do.

"Leo wants to kill the Shredder?" Donnie said, unable to believe it. "Is he serious? That's a death wish!"

"Oh, he's serious all right," Raph told him, his fists clenching. "That Shredder dummy head was nicely cut right through."

"But Leo would never do that," Mikey said, having finished feeding Ice Cream Kitty before petting him and closing the freezer behind him. "There could be other reasons to why Leo is practicing on a Shredder dummy."

"And those reasons are . . ." Donnie questioned Mikey, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, maybe Leo ran out of regular dummies, and the only one left was a Shredder dummy. Or maybe Leo was just venting his anger on his enemies. Or maybe that's not really Leo . . . It's a clone of Leo, trying to throw us off. The clone must have kidnapped Leo and are using him for their evil experiments! We gotta go save Leo!" Mikey shouted. He began running out the kitchen, only for Raph to take hold of his shell, pulling him back. The force caused Mikey to fall flat on his shell.

"It was him, numbskull," Raph scowled at Mikey, slightly annoyed of his little brother. "You guys just weren't there. You didn't see the way he was fighting, you didn't see the way he butchered that dummy . . . You didn't see his eyes the way I did. He had a clear purpose. He means to kill Shredder."

Splinter, who had been silent for most of the conversation, suddenly sighed heavily, grabbing the attention of the turtles. "It's just as I have feared. I had hoped . . ."

"Master Splinter," Raph moved to his Sensei's side. "Enough is enough. We have to talk to Leo, whether he likes it or not."

Splinter looked into Raph's emerald eyes that burned with love for his brother's wellbeing and strong determination to help him. Splinter nodded. "Yes. You have my permission."

Raph nodded to Splinter, then marched out of the kitchen and straight for Leo's door. Donnie and Mikey exchanged looks before following Raph.

Raph banged on Leo's door. "Leo, times up!" He shouted. "You've had your chance! We're coming in!" He stepped back and gave a powerful bump at the door, breaking it down.

Raph entered Leo's dark bedroom, but something wasn't right. The room was empty.

"Leo!" Raph shouted, his eyes scanning the room. No sign of his brother. Donnie and Mikey came in and stopped, discovering the room's emptiness too.

"He's not here," Donnie observed, scanning the room. "He must not have returned."

"Maybe he went to get a snack in New York," Mikey said, trying to remain positive. "That's it! He went to get pizza cause he's hungry!"

But Donnie and Raph both ignored Mikey's words. Raph released a growl, throwing a chair at the wall. The loud _crash_ from the chair's impact did not ease Raph's anxiety.

"We gotta go find him!" Raph said frantically. "He must be on his way to the Shredder's!"

"Or he could still be in the sewers!" Donnie suggested.

"Go." The turtles stopped and turned to face a very troubled Splinter outside the room. "Find your brother. And hurry."

All three turtles nodded. "Call us in case he comes back," Donnie ordered Splinter as the three brothers rush out of Leo's bedroom.

With great urgency, the three turtles ran across the Lair, hopped over the turnstiles, and disappeared into the sewer tunnels.

A distressed father watched them go. "Good luck, my sons," he whispered.

* * *

The first place Raph, Donnie, and Mikey went to look was at the Shredder's hideout, just to see if Leo was already there to carry out his revenge. But when they got there, they found something else outside of the hideout.

"Woah, hey," Mikey exclaimed when the three of them halted on a rooftop across from the Shredder's hideout. "Who are those freaky dudes?"

Standing guard all around the abandoned church like security guards were . . . Well, they looked like Chrome Dome, only with masa straw hats, glaring white eyes, more sharp armor, and an steel jaw. In other words, they looked meaner and scarier.

"Never seen those guys before," Donnie said, studying the new Foot Bots with fascination. "They must be new."

"Who cares?" Raph exclaimed impatiently. "Leo could already be in there! We gotta go in!"

Raph prepared to jump off the rooftop until Donnie grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "Raph, the place is covered with those new Foot Bots. It might be difficult for us to sneak in."

"How bout only _one_ sneaking in?" Raph challenged Donnie. Mikey made an unnecessary "Ooooooooooooo!"

Donnie glared at Raph and Raph glared right back.

"All right, new plan," Donnie at last announced, facing Raph and Mikey. "Raph, you can go search Shredder's Hideout, but be careful. Call us when you get into trouble." Donnie narrowed his reddish-brown eyes on Raph. " _Call_. _Us_. When there's trouble. Got it?"

Raph hesitated, preferring to deal with any problem alone. But Donnie refused to look away and his stare was getting annoying. So Raph finally said, "Fine. I'll call. I promise!" He added when Donnie only narrowed his eyes more.

"Dude, your stare is super scary," Mikey commented to Donnie. "You could scare squirrels away with that stare!"

"Thanks?" Donnie said to Mikey with crossed eyebrows. He then faced the team. "I'll continue searching the sewers, maybe add some security cameras to watch out for Leo and those creeps planting crystal bombs. Mikey, you search the city. I'll call April and Casey and get them to join you."

Mikey happily saluted. "You got it, D!"

"Call if you find Leo!" Donnie finished. He jumped off the rooftop and sneaked back into the sewers.

"Good luck, Raph!" Mikey warmly said.

Raph smiled at him. "You too, little brother.

Mikey ran off and hopped over another rooftop, leaving Raph alone.

Raph returned his eyes to Shredder's hideout, frowning. He sincerely hoped Leo wasn't there yet.

But then, where could he be?

* * *

Deep in the depths of the sewers, where there was nothing but darkness and the sounds of the waters streaming out into the ocean, Leonardo was buried against a corner, his arms wrapped around himself in deep despair.

That wasn't supposed to happen. Raph wasn't supposed to see him, let alone discover what he was planning to do. Leo knew he wouldn't understand. Out of all the turtles, Raph should have understood him the most.

The second Leo saw Raph, his mind flashed back to the roof, where he slaughtered his brothers mercilessly. It was like being in a nightmare again, only he was wide awake. Leo couldn't see Raph without thinking of what Leo had done to him and what he almost did to him.

Leo had tried to run away, but Raph stopped him, refusing to let him go. Leo wanted to be alone, but Raph just couldn't see that. Anger grew inside of him, tempting him to shout at Raph to go away.

And then, Raph touched his shoulder, and Leo acted without thinking. He hit his brother. He hit him again. What's worse, Leo had hurt him. Again.

No matter what Leo did, he was a monster that kept hurting his brothers.

Raph must have told his family by now. They must be very disappointed in him. Well, either way, Leo could never go back to his family again. Especially after . . .

Leo realized the date. Tonight. It will happen tonight. Fury pumped him up at the vision of the Shredder. He will face Leo. If not, Leo will hunt him down. And once the battle commence, Leo will have to promise himself to disappear from New York in the aftermath. Whether he will make it out of the battle alive or . . . Leo closed his eyes.

Or not.

* * *

Several hours later, no one found Leo.

Raph snuck into Shredder's Hideout, but barely escaped from the army of new Foot Bots. However, from what little Raph could find out, Leo wasn't there.

Mikey, April, and Casey couldn't find Leo anywhere in the city, and Donnie did not pick up any signs of Leo in the sewers (or any signs of crystal bombs yet).

By the time the sun was setting, the turtles were dead tired. They wanted to keep searching, but April, Casey, even Splinter ordered them to return to the Lair and rest. The turtles strongly opposed, but it was only after April and Casey promised to keep looking for Leo that the turtles had no choice but to return home.

When they arrived, the turtles headed straight for their bedrooms and collapsed on their beds, falling fast asleep. Splinter remained in the Dojo room, meditating. The Lair was empty and silent.

Then, a figure sneaked into the Lair. It was Leo, who took the time to gaze over his home one last time, taking note of every detail of the place that held such great memories. There was the TV. The arcade games. The dummy. The smell. The . . . well, everything else.

Leo's eyes glistened. He was going to miss this place so much. This was where he grew up. This was his home for a long, long time. He didn't want to leave this place, but alas, he must.

He turned and went inside his bedroom first, then later came out with his body covered with every weapon he could carry (shurikens, daggers, swords, etc.). Leo faced his brothers' doors. He took a deep breath and quietly went into Raph's room first.

The room was dark, saved for a few glow-in-the-dark spray paint on the wall and a glowing Jack O' Lantern. Raph lay dead asleep on his messy bed, snoring. Leo's eyes spotted an open box sitting under Raph's bed, but half of the box was visible to see. Leo took a look inside the box.

There, covering the bottom of the box, were pictures. They were of Spike, April, Casey, Splinter, and all the turtles. All of them smiling happily and innocently at Leo.

Leo couldn't help but smile a little at the pictures, the ache returning to his heart. He looked up at Raph and stared at him for a long time, memorizing his hot-headed brother and remembering all the best times they've had together. Sure they fought most of the time, but they were still best friends. Leo wanted so much to talk to Raph like they used to. He wanted to apologize to Raph for ever hurting him and that Leo didn't deserve to be Raph's leader and brother. But this was for the best.

Silently, Leo pulled out a written note from his belt and placed it on the small table next to Raph's bed. After taking one last, long look at Raph, Leo forced himself to turn away and leave the room, ignoring the ache that had grown tenfold. His next stop was Donnie's bedroom.

Donnie's room was a messier, nerdy room than the others. There was a bookcase against one wall, filled with hundreds of books. There was a desk that sat up against another wall across from the bed. It was littered with papers of notes, drawings, blueprints, and researches. There were more papers pinned up on the wall above the desk and they were of blueprints for inventions and drawings of monsters they had previously faced (though most of the papers were analytical studies of Kraang and the Foot). There was another table, but a smaller one, near the center of the room and it held small gizmos, possibly the ones Donnie would tinker with whenever he got bored or woke up with a nightmare. Tinkering always calmed Donnie down.

Donnie was also fast asleep on his bed, snoring much softer than Raph's. Leo smiled sadly at Donnie. Out of all his brothers, Leo had spent less time with Donnie and he wished that he had spent more with Donnie. He regretted taking advantage of Donnie just because he was the genius of the group (as well as hurting him). Leo was always proud of Donnie's accomplishments and how they had helped the team. Donnie had saved their shells numerous times, and Leo was forever grateful for that. It was only fair that Donnie would be the one to help take care of their family.

Leo pulled out and placed another note on the bed beside Donnie, freezing when Donnie suddenly stopped snoring. But Donnie shifted his body to the side facing Leo, still asleep. Sighing in relief, Leo took one last look at Donnie and quietly left the room.

Two down. Mikey was next.

Mikey's room was still the same and smelled the same. The room was even messier than Donnie's, and even dirtier and smellier. There were leftover pizza boxes and food everywhere, yet the brothers had no trouble hanging out in Mikey's room. If you have lived in the sewers your whole life, you would be use to the smell as well.

Mikey was snoring loudly from his bed, his body lazily over the covers and clutching his teddy bear. Leo couldn't help but smile. His little brother looked so adorable sleeping like that. He will miss him and his crazy optimism so much. Mikey was always there to cheer him up, no matter how annoying he often got. Mikey was so special to the family and to the team in every way. Leo just hoped Mikey would stay optimistic after the aftermath of his battle with the Shredder. Whatever aftermath it will be.

After a long look at Mikey, Leo placed another note on top Mikey's rising chest. And, with a heavy heart, Leo left the room.

Now, there's only one thing left to do, and Leo will be gone from the Lair forever.

He walked to the Dojo and slid the door open, only to see Master Splinter looking up from his meditation under the tree. Shocked, Leo slammed the door shut, his heart beating fast. Sensei had seen him! He had seen him!

Leo made a run for it. He had to get away before all his family wake up and try to stop him. He had to leave, now!

"Leonardo, wait!"

Leo froze suddenly. His body could not refuse his father's call. But he kept his shell to him, unable to see his Sensei. He felt Master Splinter approaching him, halting right behind him. Leo tried to steady his shaking body and his rapid heartbeat.

He didn't hear anything from Master Splinter for a long moment; Leo wondered what Splinter was thinking. None of them spoke. None of them moved. A tensed chill flowed between the two.

At last, Spinter spoke with warmth and misery in his voice. "I was there when Oroku Saki discovered himself to be of the Foot Clan. He was devastated with the news and angry that my father had lied to him all those years. I wanted to comfort him, talk to him, but he only sought solitude. And so, because I loved him like a brother, I gave him solitude.

"I did not see him for weeks. When he returned, I noticed that something about him was different. He seemed colder. I had tried to return us to the time when we were brothers. But even then, deep down, I knew that I had lost my brother forever.

"Some days, I often wonder what would have happened if I had hunted down Saki and gotten him to talk to me. Would I have made things better or worse? Not speaking to him earlier was one of the many regrets I still suffer today.

"And now . . . I see that I have made the same mistake as I have done so many years ago. I have not tried harder to reach out to you."

Leo shut his eyes, desiring to tell his Sensei that it wasn't his fault. It was Leo's own.

A gasp suddenly escaped Leo's mouth when Splinter's hand lay softly on his shoulder. "Leonardo. The path you plan to take will bring harm to you, perhaps even death. And, if you do manage to survive, you will carry that terrible scar for the rest of your life, corrupting you to your very soul. You will not only harm yourself, but your family as well. We still need you, Leonardo. We do not blame you. And you shouldn't blame yourself, either."

Leo kept silent, his head lowered solemnly.

Splinter's hand tightened on Leo's shoulder. "I failed to save my brother. But I will not fail to save my son. I forbid you to leave."

No one moved. No sound was heard. Nothing . . . for a long, long moment.

"I'm sorry," Leo finally said. Before Splinter could respond, Leo whirled around and threw a handful of dust at Splinter's face, blinding his eyes. Coughing, Splinter fell to his knees, rubbing his burning eyes. He felt water spilling down his cheeks.

Once the burning lessened a little, Splinter immediately looked up to see Leo gone. In his place was a note for Master Splinter.

* * *

"It is time," Shredder announced to his army. Razhar, Fishface, and all the Foot Bots cheered. Karai, standing far from the group, kept her face blank.

"Karai," Shredder turned to her. "Take them to the sewers and begin your work. Contact me when you have all completed your mission."

"Master," Fishface spoke up. "Perhaps it would be wise if I and a few of these Elite Foot Ninjas accompany you to your duel with the turtle-"

"No," Shredder instantly said. "I will handle this on my own. Is that clear?" Fishface quickly nodded. "Good. Now, move out. And remember, this mission has to work, or else all that we have done will be for nothing."

The two mutants and the robots bowed to Shredder and began heading out. Karai followed them, until Shredder called out, "Wait Karai." She turned to see Shredder walking up to her. "You've been silent all day. Is there something on your mind?"

Karai shook her head. "No, Master Shredder."

"Are you sure?" His eyes narrowed at her.

"Yes. It's just . . . Will you be the one to kill Hamato Yoshi?"

"Of course."

"And will you also be the one to kill the turtles? Especially Leonardo?"

"This turtle believes he has what it takes to defeat me. I will show him how wrong he is and bring him to a slow and painful death. But, if you wish, you may have my permission to kill the other turtles." Shredder began walking toward the door.

"Where's the honor in killing?" Karai mumbled to herself. But Shredder had heard her and turned to look at her.

"There is no honor in war, Karai. There is only revenge."

 **A/N:**

 **Now things are getting real! Leo has gone to face Shredder alone! Will he survive? Wil his family save him? And is Karai planning on anything?**

 **Tune in for the next chapter on Friday 23. Also, the next chapters will contain a butt load of drama, angst, and action. Be prepared!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! And be sure to watch the new episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sunday on Nickelodeon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey! So, this chapter is short, more like the beginning of the big climax. The climax is going to stretch to five chapters (including this one). Hold on to your butts, cause it's gonna be intense!**

* * *

In the harbor, Leonardo sat alone on the docks, waiting. He had arrived early, so he took his last, peaceful moment to think.

He hated the way he spent his last moment with Sensei: throwing a smoke bomb at him. Leo really regretted doing that, but he had no choice. Splinter wasn't going to let him do this. Leo had to do this. But the story Splinter told him stuck in his mind.

Leo was scared. Scared out of his mind. He was always scared, but the story frightened him more. What if Leo did win this battle? Would he become another Shredder? Would he become the very thing that Leo and his family have fought against? Would he continue to hurt his family for the rest of his life?

There was just no end to this suffering. Leo looked down at the waters below him and wondered, for a brief second, whether he should just dive in and never come out.

His fingers smoothed over the double scars on his face, lost in misery.

A roar came from the sky and Leo looked up. Three Kraang ships soared over him and disappeared beyond a warehouse and a maze of cargo containers. _That was odd_ , Leo thought. He was right there, but the Kraang ignored them. It was like they were too busy with something else.

Leo subconsciously pulled out his T-Phone, but stopped. He thought he had left his phone back home. Must have kept it out of habit. Should he call his brothers? Then they will ask him where he was and come stop him. Leo didn't want that . . . Until Splinter's voice broke through his thoughts.

 _The path you plan to take will bring harm to you, perhaps even death. And, if you do manage to survive, you will carry that terrible scar for the rest of your life, corrupting you to your very soul. You will not only harm yourself, but your family as well. We still need you, Leonardo._

The picture of his brothers were on the T-Phone screen, his thumb hovering over the Call button. Just an inch closer. And closer.

Just then, Leo saw him at the corner of his eye.

The Shredder.

He stood menacingly on top of one of the containers, behind him a sea of dark clouds. He was glaring at Leo, his fists constricted and his blades drawn.

Glaring back at him, Leo put away his T-Phone and made his way toward Shredder. Fury boiled Leo's blood the longer he stared at his archenemy. The one who had put so much torment to him and his family. To him, Shredder was a demon in armor who had no redeeming qualities and he must pay for his crimes. Leo's own fists clenched.

However, his heart was pumping with anxiety. This was it. This was what Leo was preparing for. _You can do this_ , he thought to himself, trying to calm his nerves. _You can do this. You can beat him. Do it for your family. You can do this._

Shredder jumped off, landing on the boarded floor with a _POW_ and straightened up. Waiting for the turtle.

Leo stopped when he was a couple of feet away from Shredder. Both ninjas began a battle of silent scowls, waiting for the other to start.

Then Leo smirked. "Didn't think you'd show up."

"It was foolish of you to suggest that we battle," Shredder coldly told him. "And, by coming to this, you have sealed your death."

"No, _you_ have sealed your death!" Leo exclaimed, feeling like boiling water of hate rushing out of him at last. He pulled out his katana and pointed it at Shredder. "You have been a menace to my family for months, and even longer to my father! Your brother! You destroyed his life, killed his wife, and stole his daughter from him! You sent your goons after me and my family to destroy us and make our lives a living hell! You lied to Karai her whole life and turned her against her real father! You tried to kill my father and my brothers! You used me! You tortured me and brainwashed me to kill my own family! And I almost did it! I almost killed them and I couldn't bear to look at them! Because of you! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!

"Well now," Leo pulled out his second katana. "I am going to put an end to this once and for all! I am going to kill you, Oroku Saki! I am going to kill you! And, after tonight, your Foot Clan will never harm my family ever again!"

Shredder stared at Leo in disbelief, but with interest. There were vengeful fires burning in Leo's eyes. Leo was dead serious about his mission. And he was willing to die trying.

But Shredder chuckled, shaking his head. "You really believe you can kill me, turtle? You are only a child. Inexperienced, overconfident, and foolish. You will be dead before you-"

Shredder suddenly caught Leo's thrown shuriken that was an inch from stabbing his eye. The shuriken was razor sharp and pricked Shredder's fingers, drawing blood. Shredder's stone eyes returned to the turtle, who smirked wider at him.

Shredder threw the shuriken away. "Have it your way, turtle." He raised his bladed gauntlet up in attack position. "I will enjoy ripping you to pieces."

* * *

"AHHHH! CLOWN SQUIRRELS' GONNA EAT ME!"

Mikey panted, sitting straight up on his bed. He slowly calmed down, realizing where he was and that those squirrels dressed in clown make-up (with razor sharp teeth and nails) were just a nightmare. Mikey exhaled; what a relief. Nothing bad actually happened.

Suddenly, his eyes caught something lying on his lap. Curiously, he picked it up. It was a note. And, judging from the neat and tidy (but not strictly neat like Donnie's) handwriting, it was from Leo.

Leo was here! He was in his room! Mikey's eyes scanned his room, but saw no one. "Leo?" He called out. Nothing.

He returned to the note and began reading.

 _Mikey,_ it said. _By the time you read this, I'm already gone, so please don't look for me._

 _Mikey, the last month had been torturous, being alone without seeing you guys. I wanted to see you so badly, but I couldn't. I was ashamed of myself. I was weak. I was supposed to be the strong one. I was supposed to be the leader who always did the right thing. I was supposed to be the one who would never hurt you guys. And yet, I did._

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I ignored you. I'm sorry for failing you. I'm sorry for everything. I tried so hard to be a better leader and a better brother to you. But I couldn't. You deserve someone better than me._

 _Mikey, you are so special than you know. You are the heart that keeps this team together. You care so much for others and believe in the good of them, even when we couldn't. Master Splinter was right: you are the most talented of us all. Your humor always brightened the dark times. Your optimism kept this team going. Your hopefulness is stronger than the three of us combined. You never gave up on anything. And even though you're not as smart as Donnie, you are still the wisest of us all. You are so amazing, Mikey. Don't ever think that you're not. I never thought that you weren't._

 _You have been an amazing brother to me all those years. You kept me going, you gave me hope, you cheered me up, you always helped me in your own special, crazy way. You were the only one who never stopped visiting me every single day when I locked myself in my bedroom. You talked to me, you gave me food, you told me stories, you encouraged me to come out. Every time you visited, I listened. I never ignored you. I just wanted you to know that._

 _Mikey, I'm not going to lie to you. Where I'm going, it could mean death for me. And if I survive, I can never go back home. You already know what I plan to do, so you'll know why. Please understand why I am doing this. And please don't go down that same path as I'm going. Your heart is so pure, it doesn't deserve to be corrupted by revenge. It's far too late for me. Whatever happens to me, please move on. Please be there for Sensei, Raph, and Donnie. They'll need you more than you know. Please be their rock and their heart. Please do this for me._

 _Thank you so much for being there for me. Thank you for being my little brother. I'm going to miss you so much. I wish I could have seen you before I left, maybe eat the last of your pizza. I'm sure it would have been great._

 _I love you so much, Mikey. Take care of yourself. Keizoku wa chikara nari._

 _Goodbye,_

 _Leonardo_

When Mikey finished, he was extremely shocked and confused. What did Leo mean? What was he talking about? Mikey was touched by all the good things Leo wrote about him, but why did he write all this? It almost sounded like Leo was purposely walking into a . . .

Oh no.

Mikey hopped off his bed and shot out his room. Leo's bedroom door was wide open, revealing an empty room.

"Leo!" Mikey shouted frantically. "LEO!"

He ran to the living room, but stopped. There, Master Splinter was on his knees, clutching a note to his face.

Leo.

"Sensei!" Mikey rushed to him. "Did you see him? When did he leave? Is he really going to . . .?"

Slowly, Splinter raised his head up and looked at Mikey. His eyes were red and puffy, his furry face wet with tears.

No.

"Mikey, what's going on?" Mikey turned to see Raph and Donnie entering the living room, none of them holding Leo's note.

They don't know.

"Leo was here!" Mikey told his brothers.

"What?!" Raph and Donnie exclaimed.

Mikey held his note out to them. "Leo left me a message! He's going after Shredder _now_!"

Raph and Donnie stared at Mikey and Splinter in disbelief. Raph ran back to his room, while Donnie took Mikey's note and scanned over it.

Donnie turned pale once he finished. "This is bad!" he muttered hysterically. "This is really, really bad! Leo could die!"

"And if he doesn't," Raph spoke coming out from his room. His hand was clenched tightly on Leo's note for him and rage like never before clouded his face, but tears of panic and anguish covered his eyes. "Leo's not coming back."

"We have to go after him!" Mikey cried.

Donnie turned to their Sensei, worried about his father. "Master Splinter?"

Splinter twisted his head at his sons, gazing at them. "Find him. Save your brother." He returned his eyes to Leo's note in his hands. "Before it is too late."

The three brothers took a quick moment to study their father, concerned for him. "Alright," Raph suddenly said, determination burning over him. "Let's go!"

Once they were fully armed, the three turtles ran toward the exit.

"Leo better not be in any more trouble," Raph said through his teeth as the turtles jumped over the turnstiles.

"Oh, you needn't worry about your precious brother."

The turtles suddenly froze in horror. Right before them, waiting for them, were Razhar, Fishface, and a whole army of Foot Bots, new and old, crowding the sewers. All of their enemies' eyes were on the turtles.

"It is _you_ who should be worried," Fishface finished with a wicked grin.

* * *

"Well, so far, haven't found Leo," April said on her phone as she walked down a street on her way home. "How about you?"

"No sign of him anywhere," Casey called from the other side of the phone. "You think maybe he got captured or something?"

"Raph said he didn't see Leo inside Shredder's hideout. But then again, he didn't go very far inside."

"Then maybe we can give it a shot and check it out," Casey said confidently.

April grinned. "I doubt the two of us can handle an army of Foot Bots-"

Suddenly, April stopped, groaning. Her hand reached to her head. It was aching.

"April?" Casey's voice ringed from her phone. "Hey Red, you alright?"

"I . . . I sensed something," April answered, rubbing her forehead.

"Ooooo, is it one of your awesome, psychic powers? Is it acting up again? I so wish I had psychic powers too! I could blast my enem-"

"Casey, I gotta go," April quickly said, hanging up before she could let Casey reply.

She closed her eyes and cradled her head, releasing herself to her powers. She felt something. It was very familiar. It felt like power. Power and foreign.

It was Kraang energy. She could feel it.

April kneeled down and touched the ground with one hand. It was coming from beneath her. The sewers.

She hurried to the nearest manhole, opened it, and climbed down through it. Once inside the sewer, she quickly went to the corner and lay her back against it. She peeked around and saw it.

A small group of Foot Bots were busy taking crystals out of a box laying in the middle, and carefully placing them on the walls and ceiling of the sewer tunnel.

The Kraang crystal bombs.

April pulled back, shocked. They're getting ready to bomb the sewers. She had to tell the guys, now!

She started running back to the manhole when a whip suddenly wrapped around her arm, pulling her to a stop. April looked back to see Karai, holding the whip in her hand and a smirk on her face.

"Going somewhere?" Karai said, tightening her hold on the whip.

April pulled out her fan with her free hand and used it to chop the whip off her. "Yeah, far from you!" She ran further down the sewer tunnel, but Karai was fast, catching up, flipping, and landing right in front of April in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, you running away like a coward?" Karai taunted, taking out her sword. "And I thought you wanted a rematch."

"As much as I'd like that, I'm in a hurry." April held her hand and fan out in a fighting stance.

"Hmmm, too bad." Karai held her sword out. "Because I really want one."

April groaned, having no choice but to use her fan to block Karai's incoming attacks.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **And so, it begins.**

 **Writing huge battle scenes are going to be hard to write, but at least I got two weeks to work on the next one.**

 **Just so you're curious,** _ **Keizoku wa chikara nari**_ **is a Japanese proverb that translate to** _ **Continuance is power/strength**_ **. It means to never give up and to continue to go on. Thought it would be fitting for Leo to tell this to Mikey.**

 **So, the next chapter will be release on October 7** **th** **. Be ready! As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! This is part two of the climax. This chapter is a little short, but hopefully, you'll still like this one.**

 **It's so hard to write action scenes. I'm not very good at it, but I try my best. Thanks again for the reviews! They really help.**

 **Warning: contains stabbing and blood**

 **Enjoy!**

Chapter 9:

"Sensei!" Raph shouted. "We've got company!"

Splinter looked up to see his three sons being pushed back into the Lair by Razhar, Fishface, and both old and new Foot Bots. His sons fought them, attempting to get through, but there were too many of them.

One of the new Foot Bots took hold of Mikey's wrist and tightened it, causing Mikey to cry in pain. The Foot Elite swung Mikey around and threw him away like disgusting trash.

Splinter quickly straightened up and caught Mikey just in time. He turned to their enemies, his eyes burning with rage. "How dare you come into my home!" He yelled at them.

Razhar stepped back from Raph's attack and gave the fiery turtle a big punch in the gut. "We would have come sooner, but we were busy."

"Yeah," Donnie said with a deadpan tone, fending off Fishface and a couple of old Foot Bots. "Busy destroying the city one building at a time. That's got to be tiring work." He whacked his staff at an old Foot Bot so hard, he made a giant dent on its head, destroying it.

After helping Mikey up, Splinter readied himself as more old and new Foot Bots crawled into the Lair. "Leave now, or face the consequences!"

Fishface burst out laughing, slipping behind an old Foot Bot to avoid Donnie stabbing him with his blade. "You know, I've always wondered what it would feel like to beat up a giant rat freak. Perhaps I should give it a try." He jumped toward Splinter and prepared to give the rat a rough beating.

But Splinter was too quick. Before Fishface could really do anything, Splinter's hands swiftly poked every nerve in Fishface's body, hurting him, then finished off by slapping his tail on the fish mutant, hurling him to the ground.

"Sensei, watch out!" Splinter turned to see a Foot Elite coming after him, only for Mikey to intervene by kicking it on the side, knocking it down.

"Thank you, Michelangelo," Splinter said with a proud smile.

"Just doing what a turtle do," Mikey replied with a smile, twirling his nunchucks. But he failed to see the fallen Foot Elite grabbing Mikey's leg and pulled it. Mikey fell, but the Foot Elite rapidly got up and punched Mikey so hard, he flew across the Lair and crashed into a wall.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter shouted. Out of nowhere, Razhar slice-slapped the rat's face, leaving a small cut on Sensei.

"You can't help them anymore, rat," Razhar growled.

Mikey had briskly recovered and now joined Donnie on facing a couple of Foot Elites. Raph now faced a recovered Fishface and Foot Bots, battling pretty well all by himself.

"They don't need my help," Splinter said warmly. He turned back to Razhar. "But you will need one." He charged after Razhar and defeated him in less than a minute.

* * *

The fight between Leonardo and the Shredder was a very brutal one. None of them held back, each going for the kill. Even though Shredder had more experience and his fighting style was crueler, Leo never gave up and fought back with all his strength and skills he had gained over the course of a month.

They fought on the dock for a very long time, attacking the other with blades. Leo would sneak in daggers and shurikens at Shredder whenever he saw an opening. Sometimes Shredder would block or miss them, sometimes they hit their target. Both ninjas gained cuts and bruises, but refused to back down until one of them is dead.

Leo was starting to grow tired, but kept on fighting, feeding on rage and hatred toward Shredder. Shredder didn't look the least bit tired.

Shredder suddenly wrapped his blades around Leo's katana and pulled it out of Leo's hand. Shredder kicked Leo to the ground and stomped on Leo's second katana, trapping it. "You were taught well," Shredder admitted. "But you are not fit to be a ninja."

Leo's teeth grinded in fury as he pulled a hidden dagger from the hilt of the katana and stabbed Shredder's unprotected leg with it, pulling it out afterward. Shredder shrieked, taking his wounded leg off of the katana and stepping back. Blood poured out from his wound.

Leo stood up, wiping his bloodied dagger in the air; its blood splattering over Shredder's armor. "Wanna bet?" Leo said.

Furious, Shredder charged after Leo with his blades. Leo picked up his fallen katana just in time to block Shredder's sharp blades.

* * *

Even with limited amount of training from Master Splinter, April was doing a fair job facing off Karai. They blocked and kicked and hit each other several times. But Karai was still better, cornering April a few times.

At last, they halted and circled each other, their weapons raised in preparation for a possible attack, both panting from their fight.

"You've gotten better since . . . the last time we fought," Karai complimented.

"I've had training," April replied.

"You're still not a full-fledged ninja like me."

"I'll learn."

Karai's eyes glance behind April, then smirked and straightened up. "Sorry to ruin your plans, but you won't have time to learn anymore."

Feeling a presence behind her, April swirled around and used her fan to chop her opponent, only to hit metal.

In front of her was a Foot Elite, towering over April. It glared down at her with beaming red eyes and raised its fist to smack her on the head.

April held her fan up to block the robotic arm, but suddenly, she felt something coming behind her. Before she could react, a sharp pinch hit her on her neck and dizziness quickly overcame her. Her fan slipped from her hand; she couldn't hear it clatter on the ground. Her legs grew weak and she collapsed on the ground.

Something was pulled out of her neck and Karai loomed over April, holding a tranquilizer dart in her hand.

Karai looked down at April, smirking. "Nighty-night, princess."

April tried desperately to move, but she was overtaken by blackness.

* * *

The fight brought Leo and Shredder to the maze of cargo containers. Leo had crashed into one of them by Shredder a few times, a burning pain prickling over his shell. Leo ignored the pain and continued on fighting.

Amazingly, Shredder was still fighting, even as his leg was bleeding (though not too much now). He did wince every time he used the wounded leg to step toward or kick Leo. But Shredder used his fist to pound on the wound instead, no doubt feeding on the pain and adrenaline of the wound.

Leo thought if he could only stab at the wound even harder, it would render Shredder weak. But no matter how hard Leo tried, Shredder never gave him a chance.

Leo tried taking advantage of the maze, hiding from Shredder and stalking him, attacking him using his stealth and the element of surprise. But, as a fellow ninja, Shredder anticipated this move and blocked Leo's every surprised attacks, frustrating Leo.

Tiredness was growing even more the longer Leo fought, and he had no idea how long he had been fighting. Shredder did not appear tired at all, even with the wound. Leo had to force himself to fight with as much intensity as his enemy.

But suddenly, from a blind side, Shredder punched Leo's head twice, kneaded him, and threw him hard against a cargo container, causing Leo to drop both his katanas. Slipping down and leaning against the cargo container, Leo harshly wiped off the blood flowing out of his mouth from his inside jaw wound and struggled to stand up. He quickly moved aside in time to avoid Shredder's sharp blade, instead having it stab through the cargo container wall. Leo took the opportunity to kick Shredder's wounded leg. Shredder moaned, pulling the blade out from the cargo wall. However, instead of weakening him, Shredder used his good leg to kick at Leo hard.

Leo rolled away and quickly went to retrieve his katanas. He grabbed one, but when he reached for the other, Shredder stole it and, with one quick swift, he bended the katana against his knee with so much strength that the blade broke in half right before Leo's horrified eyes.

Shredder threw the two pieces of the broken katana at Leo. The one with the hilt stabbed through Leo's upper thigh, while the other piece pierced his shoulder. Leo screamed in horrible pain.

Shredder slowly walked up to Leo, and when Leo noticed this, he threw his last smoke bomb to the ground. By the time the smoke cleared up, Leo had disappeared.

* * *

The Foot Bots, both old and new, were everywhere in the Lair, but Splinter and the turtles faired pretty well against them and the two mutants.

Splinter faced off a couple of Foot Elites, while Raph faced Fishface and Mikey faced a quickly recovered Razhar. Donnie fought the rest of the Foot Bots as best as they could. The hardest for them was facing the Foot Elites for the first time, for they were bigger and stronger than the old models. If he wasn't forced to fight them, Donnie would have been in awe of the new models.

Splinter and the turtles' greatest advantage against their enemies, though, was their surroundings. This was their home, and no one knew their home better than them. Mikey swung on the tire swing, shouting "Booyakasha!" and kicked Razhar right in the chest. Donnie threw the pinball machine to its side and, using both his feet, pushed the machine toward three foot bots, smashing them against the couch.

"Get out of my way, you fish freak!" Raph growled at Fishface, trying once again to knock him away and head toward the exit. But, once again, Fishface jumped right in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere, turtle," Fishface said, twirling his medal legs like a break dancer at Raph.

But Raph back-flipped away and tightened his hold on his sais. "This really is a bad time for us!"

"Don't you worry," Fishface smirked wickedly. "I'm sure your leader will be dead very soon."

Fury flashed in Raph's eyes as he charged after Fishface.

"Give up, turtle," Razhar ordered Mikey as they continued fighting. "You freaks have no chance against us."

"You do know you're a freak yourself," Mikey commented. He twisted the chains of his Kusarigama around Razhar's legs, jumped over the ceiling chandelier, and pulled on it before Razhar could move, having the monster dangle a few feet above. "The only difference is that you're the ugly freaks, and we're the awesome freaks!"

Donnie stabbed a Foot Bot and threw the body toward Fishface, colliding against the surprised mutant.

"Thanks, Donnie!" Raph shouted.

"Well, I was getting tired of seeing you and Fishface together," Donnie smirked. He didn't see two Foot Elites coming behind him, but Splinter appeared and took them both down, tearing them into pieces.

"STOP!"

Everyone in the Lair froze suddenly when they heard a cry. They looked at the entrance to see Karai holding up an unconscious April in one hand, and a sword close to April's neck in the other.

 **A/N:**

 **Dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuun!**

 **What will happen next? Will they all make it out of this alive? Stay tune.**

 **I've decided to update on October 28 instead of October 21, because I will be really busy that day. Please be patient with me.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I am so, so, so sorry! I meant to update last Friday, but I got so busy with this Halloween project I was doing that it took up all my time. I can't express how truly sorry I am for not keeping my word; I feel terrible. Hopefully, I will update next Friday. If I don't, please understand that I was very busy and I try hard to update. I do hope this chapter will make it up to you (though it does leave with another cliffhanger)! Enjoy, and again, I'm so sorry!**

 **(Warning: heavy blood and wounds in battle. Beware!)**

* * *

Chapter 10:

"APRIL!" Donnie screamed in horror, rushing toward Karai holding an unconscious April, only for the Foot Elites to step forward and block him.

"Let her go, Karai!" Raph demanded, his hold on his sais tightened.

"Yeah, let her go!" Mikey shouted.

Splinter, meanwhile, was staring at Karai, different emotions running over his human eyes.

"Don't move," Karai ordered the turtles. "Or I'll slice her throat."

"You wouldn't dare!" Donnie growled.

Karai moved the tip of her sword closer to April's neck, piercing it just a little to draw a drop of blood.

"NO!" The turtles yelled.

Splinter's eyes widened. "Karai, that's enough!" Splinter said to her.

Karai stared hard at Splinter for a moment. "Drop your weapons. Surrender to us. And I'll let her go."

The turtles hesitated, glancing at each other and Splinter, who refused to look away from Karai. None of them wanted to give up like this, not in their own home. They could still have a chance to fight back. But April . . .

"Do it!" Karai shouted impatiently. "Now!"

The turtles' gripped hands on their weapons shook with rage. There has to be some other way. Any way. It can't end like this.

A deadly silent breezed over the tensed crowd. The full moon illuminated through the ceiling.

Finally, Donnie threw his staff down first, gazing at April longingly; the impact of the staff hitting the floor echoed the Lair. Mikey's nunchucks fell next. Splinter closed his eyes and bowed his head in defeat. At last, though very hesitantly, Raph angrily threw his sais down, its echo louder than the ones before.

Karai smirked. "Take them," she gave the order, throwing April to the nearest Foot Elite for it to hold.

All the Foot Elites and the Foot Bots went and restrained the turtles and Splinter, pulling out ropes from their belt and binding them. Fishface gathered their fallen weapons, grinning victoriously.

Razhar gave one hard punch at Splinter's jaw. "Revenge is so sweet," he grinned wickedly.

* * *

Leo was shaking to the core.

Managing to find a hiding spot behind a cargo container, Leo struggled to pull out both halves of his katana with his bare hands and tore out wraps from his hands, wrists, and legs in order to bandage his bleeding wounds. But his hands were so shaking, and the pain was so unbearable, that he was having a very hard time doing this.

He didn't think he would be this scared in his entire life. He was wounded badly. His body was terribly tired and injured, blood slipping down his body (just looking at himself made him sick). He looked down at the two halves of his broken katana that lay before him, blood staining the steel, but not completely to hide Leo's petrified reflection.

He couldn't do this. He was a fool. He wanted to go back home so badly. But will his family take him back now? Was it too late to make amends? Just seeing them again would be enough.

There was a stomp on one of the roofs of the cargo containers and Leo's heart shook violently. "I know you're still here," Shredder called out, footsteps coming closer to Leo, who tried squeezing into his hiding spot, as if to fuse with it. "You came here for a reason, and you don't wish to leave until you get it."

The footsteps came nearer. "You were a fool to face me, and an even bigger fool to believe you could ever defeat me. Come out and meet your fate."

Leo didn't move, trying to steady himself.

The footsteps stopped, but Shredder's voice felt much closer. "You are a coward, turtle. A brainless, arrogant coward. Just like your Sensei, Hamato Yoshi. Tonight, his fate will end the same as yours. The same goes for those other turtles who follow you."

Leo's hands clenched to a pair of trembling fists.

"You had been very close to killing them all. But, in the end, they will die anyway. Perhaps I will even allow you to watch them die."

Leo's heart beat faster. The footsteps suddenly stomped onto the ground beside the cargo container Leo was hiding behind.

"Of course, _I_ will be the one to kill Hamato Yoshi," Shredder continued. "But I will allow my minions to finish off the other turtles. I will have their limbs torn apart and their heads chopped off. Their heads will hang over my throne like the wild animals they are."

Leo's body shook harder, but it wasn't out of fear.

"And do you wish to know what I will do to Hamato Yoshi?" Shredder's voice had become so close, it felt as if Shredder was standing right around the corner of Leo's cargo. "I will stab him right through his heart and twist it, so that he will understand the pain he had brought to me. And then, I will throw his body into a cage of savaged rats, so that they will devour him until there is nothing left. The great Hamato Yoshi: eaten by rats. How fitting for a rat like himself-"

Leo screamed in rage and jumped out of his hiding spot, punching Shredder's face so hard, his helmet flew off of him to reveal Shredder's scarred face.

Fury and adrenaline took hold of Leo, screaming as he took out his only remaining katana and fought Shredder. But this time, it was more violent, more furious, more merciless. Shredder was not surprised that Leo would fight him like this, but he was surprised at how much anger was inside this turtle.

Leo was so furious, words could not describe it. All he saw was red, warped around his enemy like a hellish mist. This monster. This demon. This unredeemable piece of sh*t. He must die. He must be destroyed before he kills Leo's family. Leo would die before this poor excuse of a human touches his family.

Because of this newfound energy and rage (one greater than Shredder's own), Leo was able to be a greater fighter in battle. Now Shredder was the one backing up, blocking most (if not all) of Leo's attacks. With his sword, Leo slashed at Shredder, cutting his bare skin and face multiple times.

Their feet carried them out of the mazes of cargo containers, but none of them noticed their surroundings. This battle was to the death, and they both knew that.

At long last, Leo cut one of Shredder's gauntlet off of his arm and stabbed Shredder's exposed arm right through, pinning him to the ground. Shredder shrieked in pain, blood pouring out into a puddle underneath.

Unable to control his rage, Leo leaned over, grabbed Shredder's top to hold him up, and Leo punched him with all his might. He couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. He wanted Shredder to feel the pain his family had gone through because of him. Hearing himself punching Shredder and the crunch of the blow on Shredder's face deeply satisfied Leo. He craved for it. He wanted more. He wanted it to be louder. Louder. Louder!

Then, all of a sudden, Leo froze.

On Shredder's battered face were two long cuts. They dragged diagonally from Shredder's upper left temple to his lower right jaw. His left eye sat in between the two cuts.

The cuts that looked identical to Leo's pair of scars on his own face. The same ones Shredder had given him at the very start.

Horrified, Leo shot up, backing away from Shredder. His katana was still buried in Shredder's arm, stained with his blood. Leo held his hands up to his eyes. They were covered with blood. But who's blood? His or Shredder's.

 _You will carry that terrible scar for the rest of your life, corrupting you to your very soul._

Just like that, all of Leo's energy was sapped out of him until he felt nothing but numbness. He fell to his knees, unable to look away from his bloodied hands.

What did he almost do? What did he almost become?

His bloody katana suddenly dropped in front of him. Leo looked up, only to fly backwards from Shredder's punch. Leo collapsed and saw Shredder approaching up, rage now filling Shredder's eyes.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Shredder told him in a cold, threatening voice.

Leo now felt so terrified. He tried crawling away, but Shredder caught his leg and dragged Leo toward him, giving him his own taste of beating.

* * *

While half of the Foot Bots were busy bringing in and placing Kraang crystals all over the Lair, Razhar, Fishface, and the other half of the Foot Bots spent the time trashing the place, destroying everything they could find, such as the TV, the pinball machine, and the arcade game. Splinter and the turtles could do nothing, being tied up and watched closely by the Foot Elites. April was still unconscious, being held by a Foot Elite and charged to harm her if Splinter and the turtles do anything.

The entire time, Karai stared at Splinter, studying him. And Splinter stared back with a sad, longing look in his eyes.

"No, don't go in there!" Donnie shouted as Fishface and a few Foot Bots entered his lab. But Fishface merely laughed at Donnie and slid the door wide open. Then, he led the Foot Bots inside and began another round of destruction, the sounds of _banging_ and _smashing_ and _crashing_ were boisterous.

"No! Stop it!" Donnie cried out, making a move to stand up. But one of the Foot Elite pressed its painful grip on Donnie's shoulder and pushed him back down to his knees.

Ignoring Donnie, Karai stepped closer to Splinter, her stare on the rat intense. "Why did you call me 'Miwa' the other night?" She asked him.

Splinter didn't even hesitate or look surprised by that question. "Because that is your true name." Karai wanted to look away; his gaze on her were piercing. "You are confused," Splinter suddenly said, not in a question.

"Of course not," Karai snarled, but even she admitted that that wasn't true.

Splinter blinked slowly. He turned his head to the direction of the Dojo room (the one place Razhar, Fishface, or the Foot Bots hadn't trashed yet). "Go in there," he told her. "You will find your answer in there."

Eyebrow raised, Karai looked at the Dojo, and then back to Splinter. "Is this a trick?"

Splinter shook his head.

Karai hesitated, wanting to know what answer this rat could have for her. Would it really help her? Or was he just using her?

Karai shrugged. The rat and turtles were tied up. Might as well check it out.

"Watch them," Karai ordered the Foot Elites. "I'll be right back." She walked toward the Dojo room, ignoring the crashes of broken items from the lab. "Don't let anyone in," she commanded the two nearest Foot Bots, who saluted and stood guard in front of the dojo. Taking one last look back at Splinter, Karai slid the door open, entered, and closed it behind her.

The first thing Karai felt while standing in the Dojo Room was warmth and tranquility. It was oddly silent inside. There was so much space in this room and there was a clear Japanese theme to the style. Karai almost felt like she was back home in Japan.

 _This must be where Splinter trained the turtles_ , Karai thought to herself. _I kinda wish my training room was like this._

There was a tree at the far left of the room. Karai walked closer to the tree. Blue lights glowed from the tree, making it light up in a heavenly, bluish glow, like stars. It was beautiful to witness this.

Her eyes then carried her to a wall that held a certain picture frame. Karai walked closer to get a better look at it. It was a photo of a man, a woman, and a baby. A family.

Karai recognized the man as Hamato Yoshi (as Shredder made absolute sure she memorized every appearance of the man that "killed" her mother). Karai looked at the woman. She looked quite lovely. And then, the baby.

Could that baby be . . .?

Something was poking out behind the picture frame and Karai, curious, pulled it out. It was another picture, but this particular picture shocked Karai.

One half was very similar to the torn half Karai carried of her mother. The other half was Hamato Yoshi, his arm wrapped around her mother. There were genuine love in his eyes.

Did this mean that this man, the man she had believed to be her enemy for sixteen years, was her true father?

Karai fell to her knees, so confused. She didn't know what to believe anymore. She had a father, but really was her enemy. She had an enemy, but really was her father. It was a lie. All a lie. No, it can't be. It can't be. But it is. And what's worse, on the other side of the door, was her father and his family kept as prisoners, ready to be killed. Karai had led the mission, had captured them, had led them to their deaths.

Karai started panting, her heart racing. She dropped the picture and held her aching head, painfully confused. Somehow, the walls had begun to close in around her. It was too much! Too much!

What is she to do now? What is she to do?

* * *

Leo was getting a beating of a lifetime.

Despite being wounded himself, Shredder was still strong enough to beat Leo up so horribly. He threw Leo to the ground and against the cargo containers countless times. Leo tried to fight back or escape, but he was getting weaker and weaker with every bashing he was getting. The pain was so unbearable, he could barely move his muscles without feeling it. Death never looked more appealing right now.

Shredder eventually took hold of Leo and bashed him against a cargo container with Leo's shell smashed against the wall, creating a dent in the wall. Shredder did this for a long, agonizing moment. The hurt was becoming too much for Leo to handle; he could feel himself close to blacking out.

At long last, Shredder stopped, pressing Leo's mangled body against the cargo wall. He held his blades to Leo's bruised neck. "Perhaps the savaged rats will find you more appetizing than your rat Sensei." He pulled his blades back, ready to stab through the throat. Leo's weak eyes closed, waiting for death to take him at last.

But suddenly, a beeper went off. Shredder pulled out a communicator from his belt and checked it. He chuckled, returning to the bruised and bloodied Leo. "It looks like my followers have succeeded in overtaking your secret, little home in the sewers."

Leo's eyes widened with horror.

"And it is all thanks to you," Shredder continued, taking in the joy of watching Leo look terrified and helpless. "You were the one to give me the location while you were under my control. Would you like to see your family one last time? I'm sure they're just _dying_ to see you right now."

". . . No," Leo tried to say, but his throat was so banged up, his voice could only muster up a crackling whisper. "Please . . . Don't hurt . . . Them . . ."

Shredder didn't reply. He grabbed Leo's throat and harshly threw him to the ground. And then, Shredder's boot stomped on Leo's cracked shell; a mumbled groan escaped Leo's bleeding lips. "You are not in any position to give orders, you worthless piece of trash."

Shredder took his foot off the shell and took hold of Leo, pulling him up.

* * *

"Let me go," Raph roared, struggling to get out of the ropes tied around his wrists and the Foot Elites's strong hold on him. "Let me go! I'm gonna tear you all into pieces!"

"Yeah, that should convince them," Donnie said sarcastically.

"What do we do now, sensei," Mikey asked Splinter. But Splinter did not reply; he hadn't spoken a word since Karai entered the Dojo room, nor has he looked away from the room. Karai has yet to come out, and she had been in there for a long time.

Razhar, Fishface, and the Foot Bots had finished trashing the Lair and setting up all of the Kraang crystals. They were now taking great pleasure in tearing up Splinter and the turtles' possessions right in front of their faces.

"NO!" Mikey suddenly shouted when Fishface threw down and stomped over the video cassettes of Mikey's favorite anime show. "YOU MONSTER! STOP IT! LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Mikey head-butt a Foot Elite behind him, knocking it out briefly and freeing himself from its hold. But Mikey only moved a little before another Foot Elite pulled him back and smacked him in the head, hurting him.

"HEY!" Raph shouted angrily, trying to move closer to a whimpering Mikey. "LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BAG OF BOLTS!"

"ENOUGH!" Razhar finally barked, making his way toward the prisoners. His sharp claws pierced through Mikey's teddy bear. "It shouldn't be long now. Once Master Shredder arrives, he will decide on what to do with all of you."

"I thought it was obvious on what he wanted to do with us," Donnie said fiercely.

Before Razhar could reply, all the Foot Bots and the Foot Elites stood in attention, facing the direction of the Lair entrance. Razhar and Fishface (who ceased his wild destruction) turned to see what it was, then quickly turned to attention as well.

Limping through the turnstiles and entering the Lair was Shredder, who looked worse for wear. He was covered in bruises and cuts, dried blood staining his body and armor. Bandages were sloppily wrapped around his leg and his arm, which were heavily coated in blood (it was still dripping from the bandages). Shredder stopped in front of the prisoners, who looked at him with fury and shock over him and his appearance.

"Master," Razhar bowed to Shredder. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Shredder coldly responded, taking in the appearance of his captured enemies.

"Perhaps I can clean your armor for you," Fishface suggested nervously, slowly making his way toward Shredder, only to back away when Shredder shot him down with an icy stare.

Shredder turned to Razhar. "Where is Karai?"

"In the Dojo Room," Razhar hastily answered.

"Hey!" Raph suddenly called out. "That's Leo's katanas!"

Indeed, hanging on Shredder's belt like a trophy were Leo's katanas, one of them broken in half.

"What have you done to him?" Raph furiously demanded.

"Where is he? Did he escape?" Mikey yelled, worried for his brother.

"What did you do it him? Where is our brother?" Donnie too demanded.

Splinter glared at his old friend and brother. "You have gone too far, Oroku Saki. Where is my son?"

Shredder looked down at Splinter and laughed cruelly. He pulled out the broken pieces of the katana. "Your son was an absolute fool, thinking he could defeat me. But he was no match for me." He threw the pieces at Splinter's feet (well, knees). "If you wish to see him again, you may. For the last time." He turned toward the turnstiles and nodded.

A pair of Foot Elites appeared behind the turnstiles, carrying a body. They threw the motionless body right across the Lair.

Crashing onto the floor and sliding up to a halt in front of Splinter and the turtles was Leonardo.

"LEO!" The turtles shrieked in horror and Splinter gasped. Leo's body was even worse than Shredder. Blood, cuts, and bruises covered every inch of Leo's body. His ninja mask had become tattered and bloodied. His shell was also stained with blood, but there was a giant crack on it. His body lay very, very still as his family called out to him.

"You monster!" Raph shook with pure rage at Shredder, struggling even harder to go and kill him. "You're gonna pay for hurting him!"

"Leo!" Mikey shouted to his big brother. "Leo, are you ok, bro? Please say you are! Leo!"

Donnie could only stare at Leo's bloodied body in pure shock.

"How dare you hurt my son like this!" Splinter angrily howled at Shredder.

Shredder soaked in the pain and rage from the family in satisfaction. He stepped beside Leo's body and, taking hold of his top shell, Shredder pulled Leo up to his knees, facing his family. Shredder tugged at Leo's tail mask, yanking his head up.

Hearing his family calling to him, Leo struggled to open his eyes, but they could barely open enough to peek at them. He saw his father and his brothers all tied up and kept in place by the Foot Elites. He saw an unconscious April being held by a Foot Elite. This was the first time in a long while that he actually saw his family. They were looking at him, pleading for him to be okay.

He had done this. He had hurt his family. Again.

"Behold," Shredder announced to his prisoners. "Your fallen warrior, on the brink of death. Let that be a lesson to those who believed they can defeat me."

"Release him, Shredder!" Splinter demanded. "It is me you want! Free my sons, and you may do as you wish to me!" Raph, Donnie, and Mikey shouted at him not to do this.

"On the contrary, Hamato Yoshi," Shredder said. "Your turtles have been involved with my schemes for the last time. And tonight, I will finish you and all of your pathetic, mutant turtles." He pulled out Leo's good katana from his belt. "Starting with this one."

"NO!" The three turtles screamed, attempting to free themselves and reach their brother.

"Oroku Saki, please!" Splinter desperately pleaded. "Let Leonardo go! Kill me instead!"

"Oh, I will." Shredder leveled the katana blade to Leo's neck. "But first, I want you to suffer. Watch as I decapitate your 'son' right before your eyes, as I will do to the others. Watch at your failure, Hamato Yoshi."

"No." Splinter's voice croaked in helplessness.

"YOU BASTARD!" Raph and Donnie screeched at Shredder. Raph continued to struggle even harder, but Donnie knew it was no use. The most he could do now was to cover Mikey's teary eyes with his own head.

Shredder pulled Leo's katana back, ready to chop.

Leo stared at his family one last time, wanting so much to call out to them and apologize for every stupid mistake he ever made to them. Once again, he had failed them, only this was much, much worse. They've lost. They've lost everything. And it was all Leo's fault.

Tears slipped from Leo's eyes as he slowly closed them and allowed darkness to take him.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **What will happen next?! Will someone save the day? Will Leo get killed? Turn in (hopefully) next week!**

 **If you've been paying attention, you might notice something familiar about the plot of this chapter. Let me know what you think it is.**

 **New episodes of TMNT 2012 are coming back, and it's going to be intense! Turn on Nickelodeon on Sunday 6 9am and watch it!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! And I promise I will to work and update the next chapter the next week. Just please, be patient with me.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews from last chapter! You have no idea how much they mean to me, and the ones from last chapter really helped me.**

 **This chapter isn't my best work, but I'll let you guys decide.**

 **And so, let us begin! (Warning: there will be blood)**

Chapter 11:

Shredder swung Leo's katana straight to Leo's neck, but suddenly, his helmet shook with a _bang_ when something hit it. Everyone looked at what it was.

Landing on the floor was a hockey puck.

Everyone turned to the entrance, where a masked Casey Jones leaned against the turnstiles, tossing and catching a small egg in his gloved hand. Two Foot Elites lay destroyed at his feet.

"You know," Casey said loud enough for everyone to hear him. "I don't like that there's a party going on here, and no one bothered to invite Casey Jones."

"CASEY!" Raph shouted.

"Get him," Shredder ordered. Fishface cracked his fist in his hand as he and a couple of Foot Bots head toward Casey. Casey merely smirked at them.

"Wait." Donnie's eyes narrowed at the little egg in Casey's hand. "Is that . . . My egg? You stole that from my lab!"

"Told ya I didn't steal it," Mikey said to Donnie with a satisfied look.

"This will be so satisfying," Fishface told Casey as he and the Foot Bots got closer.

"Ya gotta find me first," Casey replied arrogantly. He held the egg high up. "GOONGALA!"

He threw the egg to the floor and, when the egg smashed, the entire Lair was suddenly encased with smoke.

Casey took out his bat and started hitting Fishface and the Foot Bots while they were blinded. Splinter and the turtles took the advantage of the distraction and freed themselves from their binds, knocking their Foot Elite captors out. Donnie went straight for the still unconscious April, punching the Foot Elite holding her and taking her in his arms.

Shredder stayed where he was, still holding onto Leo's unmoving body. He scanned the smoked-up Lair with confusion and fury, trying to see what was going on around him.

Then, from out of the smoke, came Raph's foot, smacking right into Shredder's chest and pushing him far across the room until he collided against the wall.

"Leo!" Raph exclaimed, hurrying to catch Leo's body before it collapsed to the floor. Mikey found his way to them and kneeled down to get a closer look at Leo.

"Is he okay?" Mikey asked Raph, extremely worried for Leo.

"He's just out cold," Raph said, carefully holding Leo in his arms. "But he looks real bad - MIKEY, BEHIND YOU!"

Mikey whirled around to see a Foot Elite, right about to hit him.

But Splinter stabbed a sai right through its chest and used the weapon to judo-flipped it. He crushed its head with his foot, destroying it. Splinter turned and threw Raph's, Mikey's, and Donnie's weapons to the two turtles. "You must get your brother out of here." He sent a backwards punch to a Foot Bot behind him and kicked it away. "Quickly!"

Raph gently pulled Leo onto his back, Leo's face up against Raph's neck, and stood up. Mikey followed, holding all of their weapons. Both of them headed straight for the entrance (whether in smoke or not, they knew their home like the back of their hands). "Donnie! Casey!" Raph called out. "We're leaving!"

"Don't let them escape!" Shredder screamed. Casey and Donnie (with April in his arms) made their way toward the entrance, but Razhar and almost all of the Foot Bots and Elites blocked their path.

Just then, Splinter appeared behind Casey and Donnie. He wrapped his arms around their waists and pulled them to him, jumping high over Razhar and the Foot soldiers and landing in front of Raph and Mikey.

"Go!" Splinter ordered after releasing Casey and Donnie, pushing them toward the turnstiles. "I will hold them off!"

"We can't leave without you, sensei!" Mikey pleaded, stepping a little toward his father.

Splinter kicked, punched, and chopped a couple of Foot Bots. "Your brother needs help! You must get him out of here!" He triple-punched a Foot Elite and kicked it so hard, it flew deeper into the smoke. But more Foot Bots and Foot Elites were appearing.

Splinter looked over his shoulder at his sons. "GO NOW!" He turned forward and rushed toward his enemies, the smoke engulfing them all until they disappeared.

The turtles hesitated, unwilling to leave their father and sensei. But Splinter was right, Leo needed help. Casey, meanwhile, crawled over the turnstiles. "Come on, guys!"

With one last look at where Splinter vanished, the turtles followed Casey into the sewer tunnels.

* * *

"YOU FOOLS!" Shredder shrieked as the smoke slowly cleared up. "DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

"As you wish, master," Razhar said. He led a large group of Foot Bots and Foot Elites toward the entrance. But Splinter was able to hold them back, destroying more Foot Bots and attacking Razhar.

However, with Splinter distracted, Fishface took his own team of Foot Bots and slipped out the entrance.

Shredder went to limp toward Splinter, but the pain in his leg and arm weakened him. He couldn't take another step without feeling a burning ache in his body. He turned his head to the Dojo Room with a sudden realization: Karai hasn't come out of that room yet?

Shredder limped over to the Dojo room and slid the door open, only to discover that Karai was gone.

* * *

"Ahhhh, they're everywhere, man!" Mikey suddenly shouted.

When the gang entered the sewer tunnels, the first thing they saw were the explosive crystals attached all over the walls, they're pink-purplish color glowing in the darkness.

"We have to get out of the sewers!" Donnie said urgently as the gang ran down a tunnel. "We'll take the Shellraiser, it'll be much faster - NO!"

The gang stopped. Right in front of them was the Shellraiser overturned and covered in flames, destroyed.

"MY BABY!" Donnie shrieked in horror, his free hand reaching out toward his creation. "WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?!"

"Well, there goes our ride," Casey commented.

"Uh, dudes?" Mikey said, looking over his shoulder. The others turned to see a small army of Foot Bots coming after them, Fishface leading the way.

"We have to go now!" Raph exclaimed, holding the injured Leo closer to his back shell. "Let's take the manhole!"

"Can't!" Casey called out, already up a nearby ladder and struggling to push the manhole cover off. "It . . . It won't budge!"

"What?!" Donnie and Raph shouted.

"They're getting closer!" Mikey cried.

"MOVE!" The gang ran further down the tunnels, Fishface and his army close behind them.

* * *

Although Splinter gave them a good beating, Razhar and his Foot army were able to push Splinter out of the Lair and into a sewer tunnel. They were still no match for Splinter, as he succeeded in destroying all of the Foot soldiers and knocking Razhar unconscious.

Splinter stood in the middle of a lake of fallen enemies, panting heavily. His sleeve was ripped and his furry skin received more cuts from battle. But that didn't matter to him.

Right now, he needed to find his sons.

Splinter turned around and started moving, but a figure landed right in front of him.

It was Karai.

Splinter froze. She narrowed her eyes at him, her sword raised. There was a crazy look in her eyes. They were red and teary, but her cheeks weren't wet with tears. Her hair was a mess. She was trembling. She was panting.

But his daughter still looked so beautiful.

Karai let out a sudden yell and charged after him, surprising him. But Splinter was quick and avoided the _swish_ of her sword.

* * *

The gang ran all over the sewer tunnels, but everywhere they went, the manhole covers were bolted to the ceiling and the Kraang crystals were getting larger and larger until the gang entered into a forest of Kraang crystals.

"They're trapping us in!" Donnie shouted frantically to the gang under breath. "They want to make absolute sure they kill us with these crystals!"

"No one can kill Casey Jones with some crystal!" Casey boasted, throwing an explosive puck behind them, smashing a Foot Bot in the face.

"Yeah well, if we don't find an exit soon," Raph exclaimed, keeping a strong hold on Leo's body. "We're all gonna be cooked in crystals!"

"But they're not blinking, right?" Mikey reminded, trying desperately to stay positive. "I mean, there's no way we'll get-" he made an explosive sound with his voice. "Anytime soon . . . Right?"

"Even if these crystals aren't activated," Donnie explained. "They can still be if any force touches them! So DO NOT TOUCH THEM, MIKEY!"

Mikey's fingers were an inch from touching the Kraang crystals. He pulled back, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Oops! Sorry, D!"

The gang ran further into a tunnel when Raph suddenly stopped.

"Yo, Raph," Mikey hollered. "Come on! We gotta go!"

But Raph was frozen in horror. "He's not breathing," a whisper escaped his mouth.

"What?" Asked Mikey.

"DONNIE!" Raph screamed, panicking. "I CAN'T FEEL LEO BREATHING!"

Mikey went pale. Donnie and Casey froze, turning to Raph and Mikey in terror. Donnie quickly, but tenderly, passed unconscious April to a surprised Casey and rushed to them. "Put Leo down! Now!"

"But what about Fishface and those Foot dudes?" Mikey asked, seeing them get closer and closer.

"Buy me some time!" Donnie helped Raph put Leo down and began using CPR on Leo. Casey went and gently lay April on the ground close to Donnie and Leo.

Raph turned toward his enemies with a fiery determination, taking his sais from Mikey and raised them at the oncoming enemies. "Just get Leo breathing again!"

Mikey's and Casey's weapons were raised as well and they and Raph met their enemies in combat.

* * *

Karai fought Splinter while he does his best to avoid her sword, not putting up a fight. But this only angered Karai.

She groaned. "Why won't you fight back?!" Karai challenged him.

Splinter straightened up, his eyes softening. "You know why."

Karai's eyes widened. Then, with another yell, she pushed Splinter up on the wall, thankfully bare of any Kraang crystals. Her sword blade was pressed against Splinter's chest. "Look me straight in the eyes and don't you dare look away . . . are you my true father?"

Splinter stared at her eyes for a very long moment, soft emotion washing over his. "Yes."

He wasn't lying. His eyes were telling the truth. Karai really was his daughter.

Karai stepped back, releasing Splinter. She didn't know what she would get out of that, but his conformation just made it far worse for her. Her sword slipped from her hand and _clanged_ on the ground, echoing over the sewer tunnel.

This was too much for her. It was as if everything came crashing down on her. Her legs becoming weak, she fell to her knees. Tears finally flowed down her cheeks. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know who she was anymore. Was she Miwa? Karai? No one? She bowed her head down and covered her face, crying.

A gentle hand lay on her shoulder. Karai looked up to see Hamoto Yoshi's left hand on her, standing over her with a warm and caring smile, like how a father should look at his daughter. "I know you are devastated and confused over all this," he softly said to her. "But, no matter who you are or what you have done, you have become a smart, brave, and beautiful woman. And I couldn't be more proud of you."

A small, real smile appeared on Karai's tear-stained face.

All of a sudden, a blade slashed right through Splinter's left arm, chopping his entire arm off. Splinter screamed in agony as his blood splattered over Karai, who shrieked in horror.

Splinter's arm landed before the Shredder, who glared at Splinter with fury as hot as the sun. "Don't you dare touch my daughter!"

Splinter clutched his side where his arm use to be, laying against the bare area on the wall again. Blood poured through his hand.

Shredder raised his blades to kill Splinter, only for his blades to be blocked by Karai's sword. She stood in front of Splinter and glared coldly at Shredder.

"How dare you!" Shredder growled, pulling his blades back. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Yes," Karai said, her sword raised at him. "I do."

Shocked, Shredder's fists tightened. She knew; he could see it in her eyes. He could no longer use her anymore.

Enraged, Shredder went and attacked Karai.

 **A/N:**

 **And once again, I leave you with another cliffhanger. Will Leo survive? Will Splinter survive? Will Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Casey, and April survive? Will Karai survive? Stay tune!**

 **I am going to update next Friday, because two weeks from now will be Thanksgiving, and I will be busy. So expect another chapter next Friday!**

 **Be sure to watch a new episode of TMNT 2012 on Nickelodeon at Sunday 9am.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope you're doing alright! Well, after this, it's one more chapter, and this story will be completed. Since next week is Thanksgiving week, I'll post the last chapter on December 2. Get pumped!**

 **Anyway, here's the final climax arc.**

Chapter 12:

Raph, Mikey, and Casey fought against Fishface and the Foot Bots as best as they could, while Donnie desperately attempted to use CPR on Leo.

"Come on, Leo," Donnie mumbled to his fallen brother, pumping on Leo's wounded chest. Donnie hoped that he wasn't causing more harm on Leo's chest. "Don't do this to me! Breathe! Breathe!" Donnie blew air into Leo's open mouth and, when he got no response from Leo, Donnie pumped on his chest again. Donnie tried not to panic the longer he did this, but it was getting close to the breaking point.

"Is Leo breathing yet?" Raph shouted, facing off Fishface.

"Give me a minute!" Donnie shouted back, giving Leo more air into his mouth.

"That's what you said a minute ago!"

"WELL, GIVE ME ANOTHER MINUTE!" Donnie screamed in frustration.

"We don't have another minute!" Casey called out before he was kicked, falling to where Donnie was. Fishface and the Foot Bots pushed Raph and Mikey back until the gang was completely surrounded by their enemies.

"You've lost, turtles," Fishface said, chuckling. "And now, we're going to finish you off one by one." He stepped closer to a still unconscious April. "Perhaps, we shall start with this pretty little girl."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Donnie shrieked, briefly pausing his CPR to glare at Fishface, who ignored him.

Just then, a groan came out of April's lips, her eyes fluttering open. The first thing she saw was Fishface staring down at her with a wicked grin. This sudden appearance shocked April, causing her to scream. A golden wave boomed out of her head and smacked into Fishface. He flew back and collided against the wall.

Unfortunately, the wall was not bare.

All at once, all of the Kraang crystals started blinking off and on throughout the sewer tunnels.

* * *

Shredder and Karai continued to fight, both fueled with rage toward each other. Splinter had since fallen into unconsciousness from the loss of blood.

Shredder was close to overpowering Karai until both of them froze. The Kraang crystals all over the sewer tunnel suddenly started flickering. Someone had set off the crystal bomb.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Karai slashed across Shredder's wounded leg and arm. Shredder yelled in pain, collapsing. More blood slipped from his wounds.

Karai towered over Shredder, a blank look clouding her face. She raised the tip of her sword at Shredder.

* * *

"April!" Donnie and Casey shouted. Casey, Raph, and Mikey went to her to check if she was all right as she sat up and rubbed her aching head.

April groaned. "Uh, what . . . What happened?"

"Long story," Mikey told her. "You see, it all started when Leo left us notes-"

"Those crystal bombs are in the sewers and they've been activated!" Raph impatiently finished.

Realizing this, Fishface looked at the blinking crystals in horror. "Oops. Time to go." He waved at the gang. "It has been fun battling with you, freaks!" He turned and ran as fast as he could down a tunnel, knocking the Foot Bots out of his way. Confused, the Foot Bots followed him, leaving the gang alone.

Donnie stopped pumping Leo's chest, sighing in relief. "Leo's breathing again." He turned to the gang. "But we need to get out of here before those crystals explodes!"

"How?" Casey asked as Donnie carefully pulled the unconscious Leo over his back shell to carry him. "All the manhole covers are sealed. There's no way out of here!"

April groaned again, but she didn't appear to be listening to the others. She was clutching her head as if she had a terrible headache.

"Woah, April," Mikey noticed. "Did you get bumped on the head when Karai dropped you?"

"She didn't drop her, idiot," Raph reminded Mikey.

"No," April moaned. "I just . . . I have this weird headache . . . Where it keeps going on and off . . ." She looked up at the blinking crystals, her eyes widening. "Just like those crystals."

"Wait!" Mikey said. "You have crystal bomb powers? That's so cool! Hurry, turn them all off!"

"No," Donnie said in realization. "They're Kraang property." He faced April. "April, can you sense those crystals?"

"I . . . I think so." She rubbed her forehead.

"Do you think you can sense somewhere in the sewers that doesn't have those crystals?"

"I . . . I can try."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Raph said urgently. "Let's go!"

* * *

Both Shredder and Karai glared at each other for a long moment. Shredder expected Karai to kill him. But Karai . . .

She wanted to kill him. She wanted him to pay for using her, for lying to her, for being so cruel to her for her entire life. He had stolen her from her real family, and may be the real cause of her mother's death. He deserved to die.

But he was her father for the last sixteen years. Even though he wasn't a good father, he had still been her father. And she had seen those rare times when he had been caring for her (in his own twisted way). He still cared for her, but his heart was consumed with revenge.

Besides, the place was going to blow any minute, and she needed to get Splinter to safety.

Karai at last placed her sword in her sheath and turned away.

"Karai," Shredder called to her, but she ignored him. She gently pulled Splinter up and carried him down an empty tunnel, without a backward glance. "Karai! KARAI!"

But she had disappeared deeper into the sewer tunnels with Hamato Yoshi in her arms.

Shredder struggled to pull himself up, but the pain held him down. He was still losing blood, but this only frustrated him. "KARAI!"

"Master!" Razhar suddenly appeared behind Shredder. "We must leave now! This place is going to blow up!"

"Not without my daughter!" Shredder finally got up to his feet, but his wounded leg had become numb, forcing him to limp forward.

"We don't have time, Master!" Razhar urgently reminded him.

"I don't care! I must find her! And get her away from Hamato Yoshi!"

"Then forgive me, Master." Razhar abruptly hit Shredder's head, knocking him unconscious. Razhar pulled Shredder up, placed his master over his shoulder, and ran down the opposite direction.

The Kraang crystals were blinking faster.

* * *

The gang ran all over the sewer tunnels, searching for at least an area underground with no crystals. But the Kraang crystals were blinking faster and faster, and their time was running out. April tried to use her powers to find a place with no crystals, but it was harder to focus from the ache the crystals were giving her.

"How much time do we have left?" Raph asked Donnie as they ran further into another tunnel.

Donnie studied the crystals. "Oh, I don't know, maybe give or take five minutes or so - I HAVE NO IDEA!" He shouted hysterically.

"Dudes!" Mikey said. "The crystal light show is blinking faster! And it's really giving me a headache just looking at them!"

This caused the gang to run even faster, panic inflaming inside them.

"Wait!" April suddenly stopped, her hands on her temples. "I . . . I think I got something."

"Are you sure, Red?" Casey asked.

"Where?" Donnie questioned her.

April closed her eyes, concentrating. The pain from the crystal vibration was beating faster inside her head. Her eyes widened and turned her head toward another tunnel entrance. "This way."

She ran into that tunnel and the others followed her.

Eventually, April stopped. "There-" She gasped. "No!"

She stood in front of an opening to another tunnel. But the tunnel was boarded up with a sign "Do Not Enter" nailed on it.

Raph stepped forward, knowing exactly what this was. This was the same one that Leo sneaked in during the month to train himself to fight against Shredder. And looked where that landed him.

"This is it!" Mikey moaned as Raph began pulling on a plank. "This is the end! We're all gonna die! Nice knowing you, April, Casey! Donnie, I love ya man! Raph, I accidentally used your toothbrush to scrub off a pizza stain on my shell-"

Just then, the plank snapped out in Raph's hands and Raph stepped back, revealing a long, rectangular hole. Inside, there were no Kraang crystals in sight.

"Dude," Casey said, amazed. "How did you know that would work?"

"NO TIME TO CHAT!" Donnie exclaimed, already heading toward the hole. "WE GOTTA MOVE NOW! HURRY!"

Now the crystals were flickering so fast, it was close to its high point.

With help from Raph, Donnie crawled through the hole and transported Leo through as well. Mikey went in next, then April, then Casey, then Raph jumped through and followed them.

The light on the Kraang crystals stopped flickering, now glowing extremely bright. And then, the crystals began exploding one by one, shaking the sewer tunnels. The gang rushed further into the bare room and squeezed up against the wall, getting as far away from the explosion as possible. Raph, Donnie, and Casey all protectively covered April, Mikey, and Leo.

The room they were in shook violently, fragments from the ceiling collapsed over them. The wall that the crystals were attached to on the other side tumbled. Smoke incased the entire room. The Kraang crystals exploded left and right, destroying almost the entire sewers and the whole Lair. The streets above cracked and crumbled throughout the city, cars slipping down the cracks. People left and right were screaming and running around.

At long, long last, the explosion ceased. Silence returned, but the smoke was still thick and the ceiling decayed slightly.

After being completely still for a moment, the gang cautiously looked up.

The smoke slowly cleared up, revealing the wall opposite of them. The wall was replaced with its decomposing remains. The wreckage was so thick, they couldn't see what the other side looked like. Perhaps even worse. There was a beam of morning light bursting through the large, cracked hole on the ceiling over the wreckage; the front side of a car sticking through a crack.

The gang broke apart and released a breath of relief. "That was a close one," April said.

"No kidding," Raph agreed.

"That was so awesome!" Casey exclaimed, pulling his mask up and staring in awe at the wreckage.

"How's Leo?" Raph asked Donnie.

Donnie pulled Leo's body up to him, pressing his ear against Leo's chest. "He's still breathing. But his wounds look severe. We need to get him to safety."

"Yeah, let's go back to the Lair!" Mikey suggested, only for Raph to slap his head in response.

"My home," April immediately said. "It shouldn't be far from here."

Carefully, Donnie and Raph pulled Leo's body up and hung his arms around their shoulders.

"You think Master Splinter made it out in time?" Mikey worriedly asked.

"It's Sensei," Donnie said encouragingly. "I'm sure he did." But the others, even Donnie, felt that was kind of untrue. How would Splinter be able to escape with all the manholes stuck?

Without saying another word, the gang climbed over the wreckage and up to the surface with help from each other. The morning sun hung high above the buildings.

Once they made it to an empty street, they took a long look at the roads. There was a giant crack over the entire roads, some of the surface caving in.

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey looked on in devastation. This was their home. This was their home for as long as they could remember. Now it was destroyed. Everything they had known was destroyed. They couldn't believe it. They didn't want to believe it. But the truth was staring at them in naked view. Everything was gone.

What else could go wrong?

All of a sudden, the ground shook like footsteps.

"Quick, hide!" Casey exclaimed in a sudden panic, pushing the gang to the nearest alleyway.

"Hey, what's going on?" Raph questioned him. "What's with all the pushing?"

But April suddenly gasped, spotting something down the street. Before the turtles could see, April too pushed the turtles further into the alleyway until they and the two humans were all hiding in the shadows. "Kraang is coming!" she whispered to them.

"What?!" The turtles shouted, but April and Casey quickly covered their mouths to silence them.

The footsteps got louder and louder until a pair of robotic legs appeared. On top, a Kraang alien looked down to examine the giant scar on the roads.

"The place known as the sewers has been destroyed exactly as planned," the Kraang alien spoke to its control panel from where it sat. "The ones called the turtles are certain to be exterminated, as the one called the Shredder has promised."

"Scan the place that which is known as the sewers to be precisely correct," a voice from the control panel responded. "Kraang wants to be absolutely certain that the ones called the turtles are gone."

"Affirmative. Kraang out." Then, the Kraang on the metal legs walked away, its footsteps fading away.

"What?" Donnie muttered, completely baffled.

"What the heck is going on?!" Raph demanded angrily.

Just then, small, round space ships with Kraang piloting them soared overhead, zapping at a couple of buildings. More Kraang crystals covered over those buildings.

"Whoa," Mikey exclaimed as the gang watched on in shock. "What did we miss?"

"Yeah, those aliens took over New York," Casey answered, almost casually.

"WHAT?!" The others shouted, stunned.

"Yeah," Casey said. "After April hung up on me, those weird aliens started appearing all over the city. Then, they started turning everyone into freaky monsters. It was so cool, but I figured you guys wanted to know this. I tried calling on your T-Phones, but none of you were answering. That's why I was in the sewers; I was going to tell you guys. But I guess you were kinda distracted, huh?"

The turtles didn't know what to think. They glanced at each other, then turned to the cracked roads and up at the buildings, now morphing into a forest of Kraang crystals.

 **A/N:**

 **Woah, what did we miss? Kraang took over New York without the turtles knowing about it? What's going to happen now? Did Splinter and Karai made it out on time? What will Shredder do now? Find out on the last chapter coming soon!**

 **Be sure to tune in for TMNT 2012 new episode on Nickelodeon on Sunday 9am.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! Oh, and have a happy Thanksgiving day!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Well, here we are. The final chapter of the story. It took a lot of work, but I made it. Hope You enjoy!**

Chapter 13:

The race of Kraang aliens have taken complete control over New York City, just as they had said they would. They soared over the city in their spaceships, turning countless people into mutated versions of themelves, implanting crystals all over the ground and buildings, and walking through the streets out in the open, no longer needing to hide behind human disguises. The Kraangs now ruled the city, just as they wanted. And soon, they will want their reign to spread.

Meanwhile, Shredder sat on a wheelchair overlooking the mutated city from the windows of his throne room. He had never known so much defeat in his lifetime. Because of his wounds and his unwillingness to accept medical assistance, he had lost loads of blood and nerve to his wounded left foot and right forearm and was forced to have them both amputated.

Now he was left with nothing more than a man with only one leg and one arm. He was disgraced. He had failed. He had lost his limbs and his daughter to the enemy. And he will not rest until he has solid evidence on his enemies' defeat in the explosion and the safe return of his daughter.

She is still alive. He knew it.

"Master Shredder?" Fishface's voice anxiously spoke up behind him. "We've looked everywhere. But we could not find Mistress Karai or the bodies of the rat and the turtles."

"You're not searching hard enough," Shredder coldly said.

"But master," Fishface responded. "We've looked all over the sewers (well, as much as we could from the wreckage), but we found nothing. For all we know, they were destroyed in the explosion-"

Shredder slammed his fist on the wheelchair armrest. "Karai is not dead! She is smart; she could have found a way to escape on time! That means she is somewhere in this city! Hamato Yoshi and the turtles . . . I want solid evidence that they are dead before I can claim victory. I do not wish to rest until I know for sure." He turned his head over his shoulder to look at the mutant fish. "Send the Foot Elites to the sewers. You will take the Foot Ninjas and search the city. I want my daughter found."

"Yes, master," Fishface bowed and left.

Shredder was once again alone, staring out at the window. His daughter was out there. He will get her back at whatever cost.

He turned his wheelchair around and rolled up to the foot of the steps leading to his throne, the one place he could no longer go to. He pulled out a small remote and pressed a button. A screen appeared above him, revealing the face of Kraang Prime.

"Ah, the one called Shredder," Kraang Prime said gleefully. "Kraang offers gratitude to the one who helped Kraang take control of the place that which is called New York City."

"I'm glad to see your victory," Shredder said, deadpanned. "But, as you can see, I have not had _my_ victory yet."

Kraang Prime looked him over. "Yes, Kraang has noticed this. Does the one called Shredder wish for Kraang to fix this little . . . Problem?"

"It will help me greatly," Shredder responded. "In return, I will offer my service to you."

"Kraang accepts this offer."

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Donnie exclaimed, pacing in front of the couch where an unconscious Leo lay. "Why didn't I see this before? I am such an idiot!"

Donnie, April, Mikey, and Leo were all hiding out in April's apartment, keeping the windows closed and covered. Raph and Casey had left hours ago to search for Splinter and see what's left of the Lair. Donnie and April used the First Aid Kit in the house to try healing up Leo's wounds the best they could, but the damage was still there. Although he was still breathing, Leo has yet to wake up or make any sound, worrying everyone.

"It wasn't your fault, Donnie," April told him as she finished bandaging Leo. Mikey quietly sat on the floor close by, watching Leo. Waiting for Leo to wake up.

"It's so perfect!" Donnie continued as if not hearing April. "Kraang was planning on taking over New York, but, after the last invasion, they wanted us out of the way! So they got Shredder and his minions to distract us and keep us in the sewer, while the Kraang completed their plan and succeeded in taking over the city! And we did nothing! They won! We lost!" Exhausted from his rant, Donnie collapsed on the armchair.

"Everything is going to be okay, D," Mikey said encouragingly. "Soon as Master Splinter comes back, we can make a plan to take down those alien creeps and save New York City! We did it before and we can do it again! You'll see!"

Donnie wanted to believe Mikey, but he didn't have the energy to.

The door opened. Donnie and Mikey suddenly stood up, weapons raised, only to relax when they saw it was Raph and Casey. The two entered the living room with gloomy looks in their faces.

"Raph!" Mikey cried, rushing to his red-masked brother. "You're okay!"

"Casey!" April straightened up, relieved to see him safe too. "You made it back!"

"Ah, come on, Red," Casey replied arrogantly. "No alien can take down Casey Jones and his turtle sidekick!"

"I did not agree to that title," Raph said, frowning.

"No one saw you?" Donnie asked them anxiously.

"Nope," said Raph. "We got out right before those big foot bots came."

None of the others wanted to ask the question that was burning in their minds, but Donnie was the one to ask it. "How does it look?"

Raph and Casey exchanged looks. "Everything's gone," Raph answered miserably. "The whole place is destroyed. We tried finding anything . . ."

"You mean . . . All my work?" Donnie spoke desperately. " . . . Timothy?"

"I'm sorry, bro," Raph said, placing a comforting hand on Donnie's shoulder. Donnie fell back onto the armchair, completely stunned.

"What about Master Splinter?" Mikey asked desperately. "Did you find him?"

Raph turned to Mikey, looking broken. Casey held up a dirty bundle of cloth wrapped up. "We, uh," Casey spoke so Raph didn't have to say it. "We don't think he made it."

Mikey's face started crumbling. "What?"

"But I know he's alive!" April quickly said with confidence, unwilling to give up hope. "He has to have escaped! We did, so he must have too!"

Raph just looked away, closing his teary eyes.

"April, Donnie," Casey said, his voice heavy. "You . . . You need to see this."

Mikey looked on, confused, as April and Donnie walk up to Casey. The boy slowly unwrapped the cloth, blocking Mikey's vision to what's inside. Raph walked to the couch, staring down at Leo.

Once Casey finished unwrapping the cloth, April and Donnie let out a horrified gasp.

Laying in Casey's arms was Splinter's amputated arm, burnt up and coated with dried blood.

Both Donnie and April were at a loss for words, stunned at what they were seeing.

"What?" Mikey asked, curious to what they were looking at. "What is it?"

"It's . . ." Donnie tried so hard to say it, but his throat was getting heavier. "It's Sensei's remain."

Mikey's face broke with devastation. But he tried to retain an optimistic smile. "Well hey, at least Ice Cream Kitty made it out alive, right?" Raph and Casey didn't say a word. "Right?"

"Mikey . . ." Raph hated himself for having to deliver the terrible news to Mikey, but he knew he had to. "The entire fridge turned into a pile of ashes."

That was it. That was when all hope and optimism vanished inside Mikey and he ended up collapsing, breaking into crying. Raph immediately rushed to his baby brother and pulled him into a hug.

"What about your family?" April suddenly asked Casey as if just remembering other people important to him. "Were you able to find them?"

Casey shook his head sadly. "No sign of them. They probably got Kraang-atized." Feeling pity for him, April wrapped her arms around Casey and held him. Casey lay his head on top of hers.

The group fell silent, mourning for the loss of everything. Nothing will ever be the same again. They could only hope that Leo wakes up soon.

"So what do we do now?" April finally asked.

Donnie sighed, standing tall like a leader. "We have to get out of town." He looked over at Leo. "We are in no shape to fight."

"But where will we go?" Casey said.

April pulled back from Casey. "My old farmhouse. It's upstate. No one's around for miles; we can stay as long as we want."

"And how do we get there," Raph asked her.

"My dad has a Party Wagon," April said. "We can use that."

Donnie nodded at this. "It'll have to do. We leave now, before Kraang or Shredder's goons find us."

* * *

The docks were quiet and empty, not a Kraang to be spotted. The only sound to be heard was the gentle waves of the waters below. There was dried blood on the platform and on a few cargo containers from a terrible battle hours ago.

But standing on the platform overlooking the waters was a lone figure who thought she knew who she was, what her purpose was, and who she could trust. But now, she was no one.

She had just washed herself from Splinter's blood, the makeup so ingrained on her face, and the blond spot on her hair. She stared down at her reflection, her mind numb. Nothing will ever be the same again. She can no longer go back to the life she had. Now she has to find herself again, create a new person she is to become.

She will have to be no one.

One by one, she tore off pieces of her armor and dropped them into the waters, watching them disappear deeper into the depths. She now wore vulnerable, black clothing bare to the world.

Finally, she took out a knife and began the grueling process of cutting all of her hair. Familiar pieces of hair gracefully fell and vanished beneath the surface of the waters, never to be seen again.

Once she finished, she took another look at her reflection. A complete stranger stared back at her.

Without another word, she turned around and walked away, never looking back.

Eventually, she entered a small, empty warehouse that had been abandoned for years. She walked up the steps and into a landing far from the windows.

There, laying still on a mat and up against the wall was an unconscious Splinter. His outfit was tattered and singed. His arm was still missing, in its place was bandages wrapped around the bare shoulder. Standing close was an intravenous line that carried new and stolen blood, transporting the blood through the tube and into the needle that was pierced in Splinter's wrist, providing him blood. Beside the rat was a picture frame of Hamato Yoshi, Tang Shen, and baby Miwa.

The girl that was Miwa and Karai sat down on her knees beside Splinter, checking to see that there was enough blood for the mutant rat to survive on. She looks down and gazed at Hamato Yoshi.

This was her true father, and despite who she chooses to be, she swore to protect him and find his sons. His lost family.

She took a wet cloth from a bowl of lukewarm water nearby and gently dabbed it over Splinter's forehead.

Everything went so wrong. But she promised to herself that she was going to fix this once and for all.

The End

 **A/N:**

 **Ok, I just wanted to start off by saying "Leo is beaten and the turtle family lost everything" arc is one of my favorite stories from the TMNT universe. In fact, I came up with this ending before I saw TMNT 2012 Season 2 finale (which I loved). But this ending stuck with me for years and I was finally able to use it in this story. Hope you liked it.**

 **And don't worry, there will be another story to the Lost series. In fact, the next one will be a two parter called Lost and Found. However, I'm not done planning my story for Lost yet, so don't expect it to come out soon. But I will try to release the first parter sometime next year.**

 **Thank you so, so much for reading my story and all your support! As always, please follow, favorite, and/or review! Have a Happy Holidays and I'll see ya next year!**


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